Bonds of Love
by Reina-183
Summary: AU Xiaoyin. When Jin is forced to kidnap Xiaoyu by his evil grandfather will hate erupt, or will love blossom? Second pairing JuliaHwoarang. COMPLETE!
1. The Beginning

Here it goes! His is my very fist fanfic! Reviews and criticism are welcome, but please don't send me any flames I don't really have a solid plot set up, so any ideas ate welcome. Also, if you know any good stories or authors please tell me. . So, without further ado, on to the story. 

Bonds of Love 

It was a cold dreary night. In a small, somewhat poor town in China a young woman could be seen outside training vigorously in some form of martial arts. She was short and skinny with brown eyes and pigtailed hair just a shade darker. If one ventured closer they would find that she looked to be about 16, and that she was quite pretty.

"Ling, come in! Dinner's ready!" The girl, Ling, turned around and walked into a small house. "Ling, what were you doing out there? At times like these it's not safe to be out by yourself." "Mom," Ling answered with a sigh, "I'm totally fine by my own. You of all people should know that." "I guess," her mom said, "but hurry along and get dressed, Uncle Wang is here." "Yay!" Ling exclaimed in happiness, "Uncle Wang is here!" With that Ling ran upstairs to get changed into some decent clothes.

Once she got upstairs, Ling hurriedly changed into her nicest clothes. She loved visits from uncle Wang. He was a nice old man, and he was the one that taught her martial arts. She then washed the sweat off her face and practically ran downstairs.

"Uncle Wang!" she cried leaping into his arms and enveloping him in a bear hug. " "Woah! It's nice to see you too little phoenix. How's your training been going?" "Great!" Ling replied energetically. "I've mastered X marks the spot and the Fortune cookie since you left."

To the dismay of her parents she started to show her uncle the moves she had recently mastered. "Ling, stop it! Ling Xiaoyu, stop right this instant!" Regretfully Ling halted her actions and they all sat at the table to eat.

After dinner Ling helped clean the table. "Ling," her mother said, "why don't you head upstairs now? You have a big day tomorrow." "I do?" Ling asked. She couldn't recall anything she had to do the next day. "Yes, now hurry along." Ling's mother said this with a note of finality that meant 'no arguments', so Ling went upstairs quietly.

When she got to her room, Ling pressed her ear to the vent on the floor by her bed. "...very talented martial artist." She heard her Uncle Wang say. "Yes," said her mother, "but at these times her father and I think it would be to dangerous to send her away. She is only a young girl. Who knows what other people might do to her!" "All the more reason for her to come with me," her Uncle interjected, "she should know how to defend herself when the world is like this!" Ling's heart soared despite the argument downstairs. She'd always dreamed of going away for martial arts training and this could be her chance! Eagerly she listened for more.

"Have you listened to what I have to say?" Ling's father asked. "As much as I want to keep her here with us we must remember that this is Ling's life and therefor her decision. I suggest we see how dedicated she is to her training, and after a week we'll ask her to make a decision." Ling listened closely hoping that her mother would agree to these terms. "I guess you're right as always honey," she decreed, "but she is still my baby and something in my heart is against this."

Ling jabbed her fists in joy doing a silent victory dance. _Next_ _week _she thought _I can finally pursue my career in martial arts. It's a dream come true._

Meanwhile in Japan... 

"Damn," Jin stretched out the kinks in his muscles as he walked back from the dojo to the Mishima Mansion. The mansion was extremely large and had acres of land surrounding it, but it gave off a dreary, depressive vibe. He had spent all day training his in the Mishima-ryu and Kazama styles, and he was exhausted. Since it was summer vacation his grandfather Heihachi had been pounding him nine hours a day from training. If he didn't take a break soon even his strong body would wear out.

Whan he walked in his new flirty maid walked over to him. "Hello master Jin," she greeted him in what she thought was a seductive voice, "can I help you with anything? I could run a bath for you maybe..."she trailed of suggestively. Jin shook his head for no. Inside he was disgusted, but outside he managed a small smile and said, "I'm fine on my own." The maid walked away disappointed, but she still managed to strut in away that showed off her large ass.

Jin sighed. Every young woman (married or not) was like this around him. Apparently they found him attractive. What Jin didn't realize is why most women were drawn to him. Unknown to him he was quite handsome. He was tall and well built with sensitive brown eyes and his hair spiked up.

After he took his shower, Jin walked back up to his room and changed into his fresh clothes. Suddenly a voice called to him "Master Kazama! Your grandfather wishes to see you!" He dreaded days like this. Ever since he had moved here five years ago he had avoided his grandfather. They didn't get along, and it was better for everyone that they saw as little of each other as was necessary.

Jin slowly descended the steps, dreading what lay wait. "Ah, nice to see you Jin!" his grandfather called out in false cheer. "Come with me." Jin grudgingly followed his grandfather to his private office where no one could hear them. He settled himself behind a desk and Jin took the seat opposite of him. "Now boy," Heihachi started a malicious tint in his eyes, "I have a new job for you."

Jin unnoticeably started to panic. He hated the 'jobs' Heihachi made him do. They often involved doing unspeakable things to innocent people. "Damn you Heihachi, what now?" He asked, loosing control and banging his fists on the desk between him and Heihachi.

"Now Jin, when have I made you do anything to horrific?" Heihachi asked a victorious grin on his face. "I'm sure you'll do this as it is in the best interest of your mother." Jin growled before he submitted asking, "what would you like me to do now grandfather?"

"That's much better Jin. Now it won't be too horrible. All you need to do is go to China and find Master Wang's dojo. It has been empty for years; however, rumor has it his star pupil is heading there in one week. I need you to bring this pupil to me, understood?"

"Understood," Jin replied. Inside however he was confused. Why would Heihachi need this Chinese kid, whoever he was, to come here? If he needed reliable fighters he had all of the Tekken Force and Jin. What more could he need. Puzzled Jin started out the door when he heard Heihachi calling for him.

"Jin, I suppose you're wondering why I need another fighter?" Jin stopped and turned around mildly interested. "I'm planning to expand Mishima industries, and to help with the more... uncivilized aspects of the job, I'll need more than one reliable fighter who would never betray me. Now that you know the answer, get out of my office and go pack. Your flight leaves tomorrow."

Jin left the office deeply troubled. Mishima was expanding, and that spelled trouble for more people than just him. "Damn!" He cursed out loud. _If only my mother wasn't in Heihachi's evil hands, _he thought angrily, _I'd rip Heihachi's head off my self. _With that Jin Kazama charged up the stairs to his room and angrily packed his things. Coming across a picture of his mother, Jin's anger completely vanished only to be replaced with a deep sense of sadness and longing. He gently laid the picture in his suitcase. _Mother when I set you free, will you ever forgive my for the pain I've brought to this world._ With that Jin closed his suitcase and went to sleep. He was unaware that the journey on which he would partake tomorrow would forever change his life.

So how was it? To dreary, dramatic OOC, or just plain bad. Criticism is welcome. Please review it will make my day!


	2. The Kidnapper

Wow! My first reviews! I'm so happy! Thank you so much Snowbunni3z, Ignes Fatui, and TheWishOfNight. I really appreciate your reviews. If anyone else reviewed and isn't mentioned here I'm really sorry. It's probably just that I started this chappie before you read my story, and I promise to include you in my next one. Also, do you think I should add Hwoarang to the story? I personally think that he's a cool character, but it's up to you guys. Oh, and can you guys tell me about some Japanese and Chinese foods for breakfast, lunch, snacking, and dinner. I don't really know any. Please review. Thanx!

Oh yeah I forgot this last chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken or any of its' characters so please don't sue me!

Bonds of Love Chapter 2

(P.S. any speaking in Japanese while they're in China will be in italics. )

A little while after the sun rose Ling Xiaoyu lazily toppled out of bed. "Mmm...What time is it?" Staring at her alarm clock, the young martial artist saw that it was eight am. Deciding that wasn't too early; she walked over to her closet to pick out an outfit for training today. She got dressed in a pair of black sweatpants with a matching sports bra and a jacket that ended right before her waist with a big bunny on the back. Next she put her hair up into high pigtails. Satisfied, she marched down the stairs ready to prove to her parents that she should leave for martial arts training.

She slipped down into the kitchen where her Mom, dad, and Uncle were waiting for her. "Hi!" she said happily, determined to have a good day.

"Oh Ling! You're up early. Are you ready for your Japanese lessons?" _Ah man! Japanese lessons! I totally forgot about them. I don't know why my parents even bother. I'm already fluent, and that perverted old teacher is always staring at me. But...maybe if I'm good and don't complain my parents will let me leave for training sooner!_

With that on her mind, Ling put on a smile and said, "I can't wait! Then after that, can I train with Uncle?" She put on her biggest puppy face and waited. Finally her father chuckled and answered, "sure, why not?" Seeing as her requests were met, Ling quickly sat down to breakfast. She loaded herself up with food, and after that she ran upstairs to grab her advanced Japanese books.

After about five minutes she came back down and saw that her Japanese teacher was already there. He was an ancient man with a short scraggily graybeard but no hair, and piercing black eyes that seemed to Ling as though he were looking at her naked. "Konnichiwa," she muttered, and she followed him outside to the porch where, weather permutable, they usually had their lessons.

"_So, how have you been?" _her teacher asked in Japanese. _"Fine, and you?" _Their conversations usually started like this, and since Ling was so fluent in Japanese, her teacher usually assigned her worksheets or essays. _"Have you finished Taketori Monogatari (1) yet?" _he asked. _"Yes sensei I have. It was very interesting but I hated the end. Kaguya-hime was so mean to the suitors." _The conversation went on like this until it was time for her sensei to leave. She bid him good bye before rushing to the nearby field for her training.

"Here I am Uncle Wang!" she exclaimed with a flourish. "Good he answered, Now do your warm up, and when you're finished I'll see what you have really learned.

Ling's warm up consisted of various warm ups, and when Ling finished she ran over to her sensei. "Ready," she said. They both took their places and bowed respectively to each other. Ling watched patiently, waiting for her uncle to make a move. Suddenly he came after her, incredibly fast for someone of his age. Ling was faster though, and she dodged to the right throwing a right-handed punch. Her uncle blocked it, but undeterred Ling used the Nutcracker before backing away slightly to use the phoenix twin kick. Her Uncle stumbled back disoriented, but before she could attack again he started a barrage of attacks leaving Ling unable to do anything but block. The battle progressed like this with neither person taking any advantage until about forty-five minutes later when Uncle Wang insisted they stop to take a break.

"Ling, you are improving. Both your speed and strategy are astounding, but you lack in strength and technique. Let us focus on that for now. He then taught her a series of complex drills meant to improve her technique.

The rest of the week followed in this pattern, and on the seventh day ling was so excited she was jumping off the walls (literally). That night after dinner Ling started to get up to help her mom put away the dishes, but her father's voice halted her actions. "Ling," he started, "about a week ago your uncle proposed to us that you go with him to study martial arts more proficiently. Your mother and I have decided it's your decision. Now, what do you wish to do?"

All eyes focused on Ling as they awaited her decision. They needn't wait long, and then Ling answered saying, "mom and dad, I want to go!" Uncle Wang looked pleased and her mother and father managed weak smiles before her mother said, "Ling, wait here." Ling obediently stood there until her mother returned a few seconds later clutching a small package. "I know it isn't much, but please take this."

Ling took the package and opened it, laying the packaging aside. Inside was a beautiful golden locket with a small heart shaped ruby in the middle of the pendant. Close to tears of happiness Ling gently opened the locket to see a picture of her a few years ago standing with her mom, dad, and Uncle Wang. The other side was blank.

Ling leapt into her mom's arms and tears of happiness ran down her face. She backed away, and while she wiped the tears from her face she asked timidly, "why is the other side blank?"

"This side," her mom answered, pointing to the picture, "represents your life with us. The other side represents your future. Leave it blank until you find some one you deem worthy of putting in there. I don't know when we'll see you again, as it's arranged that you'll be going to school there, but to me you'll always be right here." She pointed to her heart, and Ling smiled before kissing both her parents on the cheek and ascending the stairs to pack.

After she was packed her uncle asked "are you ready?" Ling took one last look at the house she had grown up in before climbing into her uncle's car and driving off into the night.

Meanwhile with Jin

Jin Kazama hit the punching bag one last time while accidentally sending the person holding it flying backwards from the force of his hit. "Oops sorry," he said in Chinese helping the poor guy up. Poorly shaken the young man stuttered, "n-no. T-t-that's quite alright. I I guess you don't kn-now your own st-strength."

Jin walked away, his friendly smile quickly turning into a serious frown. Today was the day. He had been in China for six days, and today was finally the day that this student of Wang would arrive. Glancing at his watch, he decided it was time to leave. Clad in baggy white pants, a navy blue shirt, and with a red jeweled band on his right hand, this handsome teenager was the last person anyone would suspect of kidnapping. Getting into his silver Porsche (complements of his grandfather), he took off towards the Wang residence, his face grimly set with determination.

When he reached the right place, he set off towards the training dojo. Pressed up against the wall and prepared to fight if anyone should see him, Jin spied on the two occupants who were currently sparring. _That girl must be the pupil,_ he thought. _She's fast, faster than me, but judging by the fight she isn't too strong. I should be able to take her._ He turned his view to the old man training her. He was currently struggling hard to no not lose. _He's not as much trouble as the girl is. He's not as fast and he's older which means he'll run out of energy sooner. I can't beat them if they fight against me together, so I'll divide and conquer. _

With that, Jin waited until the girl pinned the old man and beat him. After a few words to her he left, and Jin silently followed him. He walked through the house until he met up with Wang in the kitchen.

"Oh hello young sir. Are you lost?" The old man asked, concern in his eyes. Seeing this Jin's guilt increased. "No," he said as he lowered himself into a fighting stance. "I'm here to take your student." The old man's concern vanished, and his eyes filled with rage. He charged at Jin, but unfortunately for him Jin anticipated this move and after expertly dodging, he launched his own attack. The flurry of fists continued with neither side backing down, but anyone could tell that Jin as quickly taking the advantage. With one final punch to the head, he knocked Wang unconscious.

Jin hurried out of the kitchen, and he found his way back to the dojo. The girl looked at him and gasped asking, "what were you doing in Uncle's house?" Jin evenly replied, "come with me peacefully and I won't have to hurt you." "No way!" she replied angrily. She slipped into a fighting stance, and both opponents waited for the other to attack, The tension mounted in the air as Jin thought, _if I attack her she'd be fast enough to dodge and strike a counter, I have to wait for her to come to me. _His patience paid off and with a small cry the girl launched herself at Jin with a left-handed punch. Jin dodged to the left trying to punch her, but she cartwheeled away stopping behind him. He turned in time to dodge a high kick, and he barely evaded one aimed at his lower knees. Finding an opening after the girl's last attack he punched her in the stomach, winding her; however, she evaded his next attack and threw a hard left punch. Despite his best tries, she hit him in the shoulder and he stumbled back. Both of them looked at each other, and Jin could see that his opponent was slowly tiring. He lunged at her, and they resumed their deadly dance. Finally he saw an opening. She made a wild punch at him and missed, giving him a chance to use his dragon uppercut. With a cry she collapsed, and Jin easily picked her up. Jin set her in his car and drove off towards the hotel.

Pulling out his cell phone, he made a quick call. "Heihachi, this is Jin. I have the one you want we're on our way back to the hotel right now." "Good," Heihachi replied. "When you get back look for the Tekkenshu. They'll be waiting for you." Without so much as a good bye Heihachi cut off the connection. Looking down at the innocent face of the unconscious, girl Jin thought _she doesn't deserve this. _Turning back to face the road he whispered to the girl, "welcome to hell."

So, do you like it? Was it too antsy or dramatic? Give me your opinions and ideas, review! I really want to know what you think! I'm counting on you guys too help me with this! Please no flames. I promise I'll review soon.

Reina-183


	3. Captured!

I'm back up with another chapter. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, and especially Ignes Fatui for giving me some idea about food and TheWishOfNight for support. I'm pretty sure I'll add him to the story later. I probably won't be able to update as fast for a while since I have midterms coming up and I haven't been feeling to good. Aren't I lucky! Well I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken or any of its characters.

Bonds of Love

Pain. That's all Ling Xiaoyu felt when she woke up from her forced slumber. She felt like she had taken a major beating, and as she fully awakened she couldn't recognize her surroundings. _Where am I? _She soon realized she was in some sort of moving vehicle. _What the hell, where am I? Where's Uncle Wang? Shouldn't I be with him at the dojo?_ Ling tried to sit up, but it was in vain since her arms and legs were bound with rope. She violently struggled with the ropes, but it was in vain. Out of breath and sore for unknown reasons, Ling looked up. She vaguely realized she was in a very nice car, but her attention was focused on one thing, the driver. Shocked, she managed to sit up, and that attracted his attention. Ling gasped as she realized what had happened.

_She had been training in the dojo with her Uncle. The match had started out fairly even, but Ling could tell she was winning. After her uncle had thrown a series of punches and kicks at her, Ling grabbed him and used her Judo move to flip him over her shoulder and onto the floor. "Ha!" she exclaimed as she performed a victory dance. She had beaten her uncle three times, and with each victory her confidence grew. She knew she was being a little overconfident, after all Uncle Wang still had many moves to teach her. She bent over and reached out an arm to help him out. When he was on his feet he told her, "you are exceeding my expectations never thought you would learn so fast Little Phoenix. I'm going to recuperate from that beating you gave me, so why don't you practice your technique, and the moves you have move difficulty with. When I come back, I'll see if you're ready to learn anything new." With that he had headed into the house._

_A few minutes later she heard a loud thump, as if someone had fallen. Worrying that something had happened to her uncle she started to head inside, but a young man intercepted her. He had been the one to hurt her uncle, so she fought him and lost. After the final hit she had taken a good look at him. He had spiked brown hair and brown eyes. The funny thing was, his eyes hadn't seemed evil. They had seemed, sorrowful and remorseful. Then she blacked out. _

Staring up at the driver she gaped in horror. Even though a hood covered his hair, she could see his eyes. Those eyes, the ones that held so much sorrow and pain, were staring straight at her. She was stuck alone with the man who kidnapped her!

Mustering her courage he looked straight back into his eyes and asked icily, "who the hell are you?" He raised his eyebrows at her and replied, "are you really in any position to be asking questions?" She flushed with anger and was ready to shout at him, but his voice stopped her. "Jin Kazama." "What?" she said confused. "My name is Jin Kazama," he repeated, turning his eyes back to the road. "Why?" Ling questioned her courage building. Though her question was vague he seemed to realize what she was talking about. "It wasn't my decision," he replied, his eyes still focused on the road. Before Ling could ask how the hell it wasn't his decision and why he followed whoever proposed it, the car pulled to a stop.

"We're here," he said, "don't try to escape, and stay quiet." "Why?" she asked, "what are you going to do if I don't obey you?" "Let's just say your life isn't the only one you'll be destroying by trying to escape." With that he opened the door and got out of the car. Ling's face paled. _Is my family in danger? Did he capture them too? _Her thoughts were forgotten and replaced by fear when Jin opened her door. He calmly extracted a pocketknife from his front pocket and leaned towards her. Ling whimpered and scooted back as far as she could, trying to avoid the lethal blade.

Suddenly, the ropes binding her feet loosened and fell off, sliding to the bottom of the car. The ropes at her wrists soon followed suit. She clambered out of the car, sloppily getting to her feet. Without a word, Jin headed towards a large building, and Ling followed right behind him. She soon realized they were heading towards a hotel, and she wondered, _why is he taking me to such a public place. It'd be an easy escape._ Just before they reached the main doors to the building, Jin pulled to a halt. Ling, lost in thought, almost ran into him. "Remember what I said. No trying to escape or shouting for help. We have your family under surveillance, and if anything happens they can be disposed of." Ling froze in fright, but she soon followed after him into the hotel.

Jin opened the mahogany doors to the huge hotel, and Ling shielded her eyes from the light that came streaming out. She timidly followed Jin like a prisoner that was heading towards their execution. Once inside, Jin seemed to spot someone at the back corner of the hotel. Ling followed him and listened eagerly as he engaged in a conversation with the other man. They spoke in Japanese, but thanks to those years spent with her perverted old Japanese teacher, she could easily follow their conversation.

"_Is this the student? Doesn't look like much."_ The unknown person said, analyzing Ling with a critical eye. _"She plenty pretty though." _Ling glared at the man hard, but he either ignored her or didn't notice. _"Don't be fooled by her looks," _Jin uttered, _"She can fight, and she's fast." "I guess," _he replied. _"To bad I didn't see the fight. I would've enjoyed those high kicks."_ The sick, perverted man gazed longingly at Ling, but stopped when she growled in perfect Japanese, _"I would die before I let that happen, baka!"_

Both men stared at her, and Ling could see what was running through their minds, **_She can speak Japanese! _** "Well, girl, what's your name?" The man asked. "Why should I tell you?!?" she responded angrily. Switching back to Japanese, he told her, "_because I have a gun." _Frustrated and scared, she muttered, "my name is Ling Xiaoyu." "Well, Ling, Welcome to the Tekken Corporation." With that he told Jin, "the jet will leave in one hour. Grab your things and go to the private takeoff area."

Jin nodded, then motioning for Ling to follow him he headed up the stairs. After fifteen stories, Jin and a very ticked off Ling finally made it to his hotel room. _Jeez! Why couldn't we have taken the elevator_? Jin opened his door with the keycard and headed inside with Ling scampering in before the door closed. Once inside he handed Ling a tray of food saying, "eat." He then proceeded to pack his things. Ling looked at the clock and saw that it read eight p.m. _I haven't eaten in hours she thought. _On the tray there were some sizzling meatbuns, chow mien, and want-on soup. Without knowing or caring if it was poisoned or not, Ling dug in, devouring the food in a few minutes.

"Come," Jin stated, and they headed down the stairs, much to Ling's dismay. They got back into Jin's car, and this time Ling was in the front passenger's seat. "Where are we going?" she asked, terrified as to what the answer would be. "Japan," Jin stated calmly, not even glancing at her. When they reached their destination, Jin got out of the car and grabbed his bags. Still inside the car, Ling was in shock. _Japan! It's so far away from my family, and everything I know. _Clutching the locket hidden by her shirt, Ling gathered her courage and prayed that all would turn out well.

She opened the door, and found Jin waiting for her outside the car. The pain in his eyes was still there, but it was lessened and Ling saw sympathy. _Maybe I'm just imagining it. I mean he is a kidnapper, right. Why would he have sympathy for me._ Suddenly words he spoke a few hours ago rung in her ears, _"It wasn't my decision." _Startled Ling thought, _maybe it wasn't his decision, but he still did it. I cannot forgive him for that. I must be imagining what I saw, there's no way he sympathizes with me. I hate him!._ Those last three words rang in her head, but somehow Ling felt they weren't true. Something about those eyes stayed in her head, and deep down Ling knew that she didn't hate him.

Jin looked back at the girl, Ling Xiaoyu, which he had kidnapped. He remembered her reaction when he told her they were going to Japan. She had seemed so scared and, most of all, alone. Guilt ate at his heart, and he found himself sympathizing with her. Her situation was so similar to his.

Suddenly she realized he was watching her. In a single moment that felt like forever, her gaze met his eyes, and Jin gulped inaudibly. Ling had the prettiest eyes he had ever seen. Innocence and pride shown brightly in them, but they were filled with pain and fright. _Pain and fright I caused,_ he reminded himself. The guilt of his sins against her caused him to turn his gaze away from her eyes. The connection they had was broken, and Jin turned his head away.

They finally reached the plane, and Ling climbed in first. Jin followed her in and they took their seats. The pilot turned around and grinned at them saying, "ready to fly kids?" When neither Jin nor Ling responded his grin faded and he turned back around muttering about kids nowadays.

Throughout the beginning of the flight Jin switched from thinking to watching Ling. She kept grasping something under her shirt and whispering. After about an hour, she curled up into a little ball and fell asleep. _She looks so cute when she sleeps,_ Jin thought. He then realized what he had just thought and shook his head._ I cannot allow myself to have these petty feelings. All my concentration needs to be focused on finding my mother. _Even as he thought that, the image of Ling curled up and sleeping lulled him into a world of peaceful dreams.

Jin awoke with a start to someone roughly shaking his shoulder. Without thinking he grabbed whose ever arm it was and pulled them forward before twisting their arm behind their back. "Yo, kid! I was just trying to wake you up! We've landed. We're at the Mishima residence and Heihachi is on his way to see you!" Jin let go of the poor guy's arm muttering a soft, "sorry." All the commotion woke Ling who was sitting up and stretching. Jin's gaze was momentarily drawn to her slim figure, but with a blush he decided the floor was very interesting.

Jin and Ling hastily got off the small plane and Jin saw his grandfather heading towards him. "Hello;" Heihachi said in Japanese. "Is this Master Wang's star pupil?" he asked, motioning Ling. "Yes," Jin replied, "and she speaks perfect Japanese." Heihachi chuckled saying, "that's good, because I don't speak a word of Chinese." Turning his attention to Ling he started to speak to her. 'Come, and we'll get you set up in your new quarters. I have no intention of hurting you, and while you stay here you will be treated as an honored guest." "Then let me go home," Ling replied. Jin watched worriedly as Heihachi's eyes narrowed in anger. "I'm afraid I can't do that, little girl. You see, I need your fighting skills to accomplish my aspirations, and nothing will stop me from getting what I want. My men can and, if necessary, will kill a little, smart-assed, Chinese girl's parents if it will help me in any way!" Jin watched Ling's eyes fill with tears, and she screamed "fine!" before allowing two of the Tekkenshu to lead her towards the mansion.

Jin followed them, just in case that Ling girl turned her anger into action and tried to escape. Ling was lead to her room and Jin noticed with dry amusement that it was opposite of his own room. _Keeping all the prisoners in one area, huh Heihachi. _

As soon as the guards left Jin retired to his own room. He found the book he was reading before all of this happened and attempted to read, but Ling's loud sobs could clearly be heard. With a sigh he got up and walked across the hall to her room. He opened the door and saw her sprawled out across bed, crying her eyes out. She looked up at him with a tearstained face and asked, "what do you want?" "Crying won't get you anywhere," he replied. Before he could continue she screamed in Chinese "what do you know about this?!?" She put a hand to her heart and continued. "You know nothing of my pain! How can you work for him and feel any of my pain? If you know what I'm going through, then take me back to China!"

"I'm just like you!" he replied, his voice raising unintentionally as he continued their argument in Chinese. He dare not switch back to Japanese, for if anyone heard them and could understand them there would be dire consequences. "Five years ago, my good for nothing father left my mother and I. Heihachi, whose my grandfather, took advantage of that and kidnapped my mother, faking her death. Without any other family, I was forced under his custody! If I don't do what he orders me to do, then he'll kill my mother! So yes I do know what you're going through, and no I can't take you back to China!" Having completed his rant he looked straight at Ling, as if daring her to say something. She looked shocked and switching back to Japanese she muttered "sorry, I didn't know." "How could you know?" he replied.

Their eyes met, and a connection similar to the one last night was formed. Except this time Jin didn't feel guilty, and he didn't want to run away. Jin saw Ling get off her bed and take a step towards him. He in turn walked towards her as if he were hypnotized. Just as they were only a steps apart, the door opened, and one of the maids entered the room saying, "Master Jin, Ms Ling, I could hear you screaming downstairs, what's the matter?" "Nothing," Jin replied. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Ling blushing furiously. The maid seemed to accept his answer and she left the room, closing the door behind her behind her.

This left Jin and Ling with in very odd position. Jin started "Uhhh.." at the same time Ling said "anyway." They both stopped in mid speech, waiting for the other one to say something when Jin just said, "Uhhh..I got to go um, train. I'll see you at dinner." Ling nodded and added, "I have to go ask someone about clothing. I can't live off of one outfit." "Go to Heihachi's office, it's downstairs on the right. You can't miss it." They both awkwardly trailed off into silence until Ling said, "I better get going," and left her room. She shut the door behind her, and Jin was left standing alone in Ling's room thinking _what happened?_


	4. Someone to Lean On

Wow! Writer's block is harsh. My minds totally frozen! Please don't scream at me if you don't like this chapter since I'll probably redo it. I've done four completely different drafts of this and it's getting nowhere. I know where I'm going but I don't know how to get there. I'm sick and brain dead... Well on to the story.

Bonds of Love

Ling stood outside her door with her head in her hands. Her cheeks were flushed a deep red, and almost anyone would agree that she made a lovely portrait against her dull surroundings. _Oh my God! What just happened? How did it begin?_

_Jin stood at the other side of the room. He had just finished telling her about his mother. 'Why should I believe him?' Ling thought. 'This is the man who hurt uncle Wang and kidnapped me.' Ling suddenly looked up and was caught in Jin's transfixing gaze. His pained eyes cried out to her strongly, and she couldn't help but get up and take a step a step towards the man. Purely put, those eyes could not lie to her. They were a reflection of his soul, and they told her that this boy held within him the pain of loss. She wanted to comfort him and tell him it would be all right. She wanted to be held in his arms, but most of all, she wanted to make the pain in his eyes cease to exist. The connection between them grew stronger with each passing moment, and she knew he felt it too. He took one step towards her, his face indecisive, but then he rushed forward closing the distance between them until there was only a few steps separating them. She began to reach out to him when the door opened and one of the maids bustled in. Like a delicate thread, their connection was easily broken. Ling made up some lame excuse about clothes and rushed out the door to handle the myriad of new feelings she felt stirring deep within her._

"Excuse me Ms Ling," a young maid asked nervously, interrupting Ling's thoughts. "Yes," she replied politely. "Mr. Mishima wishes to see you and Jin in his office immediately. I've already told Jin and he's headed down. You might want to hurry. It isn't wise to keep someone like Mr. Mishima waiting." Ling sighed under her breath, but there was no use trying to escape from the meeting. Mr. Mishima struck Ling as a horrible man, and Ling didn't want to be forced to find out what means he might go to for her to submit to him. "Excuse me miss, but where is his office?" she asked. "It's downstairs to your right, the first door. It's hard to miss." The maid answered with a sweet smile. "Thank you," Ling said before heading downstairs. She turned right and spotted the door immediately. The maid was right it was hard to miss. While all the other doors in this hall were unadorned, the dark wood of the double doors leading to Mr. Mishima's office was intricately carved with visions of angels and roses. The craftsmanship was amazing. The door alone must have cost a fortune. As she traced the designs on the door she thought, _it's ironic that someone so much like the devil would choose a door of angels for decoration._

She slowly opened the heavy door, and the well-oiled wood didn't make even a hint of a creak. Stepping inside she saw Mr. Mishima sitting at his desk. Across from him sat a scowling Jin. "Ah, Ms Ling. I see you have finally seen fit to join us." Ling scowled at him and sat down in a leather chair next to Jin. "So Heihachi," Jin began, "now that Ling is here, what do you want?" "I have a job for you." Heihachi stated. "**_Job!_**" Ling stood up and continued. "You kidnap me, and now you expect me to do what you say?" "Exactly," Heihachi answered, "and if you care about your parents, you will do everything I want you to do!" Heihachi's voice rose to a roar, but Ling held her ground. 'I'll do what you want, Heihachi, but I won't enjoy a single minute of it." Heihachi ignored her and continued informing them of the 'job' they were going to pull. "A very rich American woman named Charlotte Campbell will be arriving in a few days. Next Tuesday she's hosting I party. Jin, I have managed to secure an invitation for you, and Ling is to be your date. Your objective is to steal a very important necklace. As far as I know she only has one person guarding it. His name is Hwoarang, and he'll be carrying the jewel on him. He's very hard to miss. He is Korean, and he's tall and skinny with blood red hair. The supplies you'll need for your mission are waiting for you in your room. That's all."

Ling stood up and left the room. She ascended the stairs, and headed to her room. Outside her room she ran into the maid from before the meeting. "Hello," she greeted the maid. "Hello, Ms Ling. The package from Mr. Mishima is inside on your bed. Also, there are new clothes for you in your closet. I hope they're to your liking." The maid turned and walked away. Ling entered her room. Sure enough, there was a large package lying on her new bed. She walked over and opened it. Inside there was a beautiful red dress. It was long and would probably reach down to her feet if she wore it. The neckline was in a fashionable V, but it wasn't immodest. It was sleeveless, and beneath it in the package was a matching silk shawl to go over it. There was also a pair of matching shoes made so that when Ling tried them on she could still fight with her regular skill. Further down in the package were a pair of gold earrings and makeup. Even though the outfit was obviously of the best make, she looked at it with disgust. _It feels so wrong to wear something like this to a robbery. I can't handle this. I just want to go home and be with my family._

With that Ling burst into tears on the bed. She curled up into a little ball and allowed herself to be swept away by self-pity. She didn't know how long she was crying for, but she heard someone open the door. That person walked over to the bed in calm, deliberate steps and sat next to her. "Leave me alone!" she cried. She looked up to see Jin. His eyes held the same sympathy as the night before. She didn't want to see him right now. His appearance always brought new emotions Ling wasn't quite sure how to deal with. "I don't want your pity!" she screamed.

Without words, he awkwardly reached an arm over and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Shh, it's going to be alright," he whispered in Chinese, running a hand through her hair to try and calm her. Ling didn't know if it was the presence of her first language, or if he somehow had the power to sooth her. Either way she didn't care. She huddled closer to his chest and cried against him. She cried for her mom, dad, and Uncle Wang who were probably grieving about loosing her. She cried for Jin and his mother, innocent victims of a cruel man and his Lust for power. But most of all, she cried for herself. She cried for the cocky girl that wanted nothing more than to train in the martial arts. She cried for the girl who was kidnapped and thrown into chaos. She cried for a girl with no future, who only lived to be a servant for others. Through it all, Jin held her and whispered meaningless words of comfort in her ear. They both knew it wasn't going to get better, yet Jin still held her in his strong arms.

When she finally ran out of tears she looked back up at him, and wrapped her arms around him. She felt the hard, firm muscles in his chest, and she could hear his heart beat. She could smell his unique scent, a mixture of the outdoors after a wet day and a myriad of other unidentifiable smells. And as she snuggled closer to him, she made a startling revelation. _Things might not get better, but as long as I have someone to share my pain with, things can't get any worse. _Wrapped up in his arms, Ling let out a yawn and whispered to Jin, "thank you." She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Ling then rested her head against his chest, and fell into a world of dreams.

Jin looked down at the girl he held in his arms. She was fast asleep. Jin let a brilliant smile grace his face, and he gently laid Ling down on her bed and tucked her in. He leaned over her and traced the outline of her face with his large hands. Looking at her sweet lips Jin was reminded of the kiss she gave him. He reached a hand up to his right cheek where Ling had kissed him. The moment was ruined when Heihachi opened the door and saw him. Jin quickly moved away from Ling, but it was too late. The image of Jin leaning over Ling with one hand touching her face had imprinted itself in his mind. _Shit_! Jin cursed. _Heihachi's not going to like this._

To be continued... 

So, you like? I really hate to end it there, but I need some more time to figure out how Heihachi is going to react, and what strains, if any, it will put on Jin and Xiaoyu's fragile relationship. I know there wasn't a lot of Jin in this, but the next chapter will have more, I promise! Hwoarang is going to join the cast in either one or two chapters, but it depends on how things go. As always, I'm anxious to here from my reviewers. I really want to know what you think of it, and any ideas you have. Until next time!

Reina-183


	5. A Wonderful Secret

Wow! The Writer's block is starting to go away! Thank you reviewers! The more reviews I get, the more inspired I am to write. They really make my day!

Warning: major Xiaoyin fluffiness/sadness. More of Heihachi being evil.

**For Kari**: I know what you're talking about! I hate Jin/Julia & Hwoarang/Ling pairings! I'm really trying to fit some Julia/Hwoarang in seeing as they're my second favorite pairing in Tekken, but it'll take a few chapters.

**For TheWishOfNight**: Once again, thank you for the complements! I'm sorry about not being able to add the shift8 thingies to your name. isn't putting them up when I type them!

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**SHEE**: Your criticism is greatly appreciated. I know I made Jin somewhat soft, but I'll try to fix it with the introduction of Hwoarang.

Bonds of Love

Heihachi motioned for Jin to step out into hall. _What's going to happen?_ He asked himself worriedly. Once they were in the hall Heihachi started to speak. "Listen Jin," he began, his eyes flashing with danger and his mouth a grim line. "I don't want to see you with her, ever. Your job is to serve me, as is hers. You shouldn't let anything or anyone get in the way of you doing that. As punishment you're confined to your room for the rest of the day." Jin cut him off. "You crazy old man! You've kept my mother hostage and forced me to do your bidding for five years! I think I should be allowed to have one moment of happiness without having you take that away too!" "You've had your one moment, form what I've seen. If you don't want her or your mother to be hurt, then I suggest that you do what I say! You'll have no relationship with her deeper than that of a colleague, and if I find out that you do, Ling will pay the price for your disobedience!" With that final threat, Heihachi stormed off.

In the hall, Jin thought through the events of the day. _She felt so right in my arms. We fit together as if we were made for each other. She is the only person who understands my pain, and I understand hers. This is the only way though. If I can get her to hate me, then she won't be in danger from Heihachi. _This idea planted firmly in his mind, he slowly got to his feet and walked into Ling's room. Her beautiful sleeping figure greeted him. He went over to her, leaned down, and planted a kiss on her forehead. She smiled in her sleep, and Jin took one last look at her muttering "sorry." He then went to his room and stared at the clock. It read 11:30 am. _This is going to be a long day, _he thought. For the rest of the day Jin tried various things to make the time go by. At about 1:00 Ling had knocked on his door timidly asking for him. When he didn't respond she left, probably to go train. A maid brought lunch and dinner to him, but he didn't eat much. At about 9:00 p.m. he fell asleep, his thoughts focused on Ling.

The next day in the dojo he repeatedly hit a punching bag. To him it looked like Heihachi, and he unleashed all of his fury towards his grandfather on it. The smug look on Heihachi's 'face' wasn't going away, so Jin hit it harder. The poor bag broke and was ripped from the ceiling. It bounced a few times on the hardwood floor before it started rolling. Jin followed the bag's path until a small foot clad in white Tennis shoes stopped it. "Training hard I see," the person said. That voice was painfully familiar in his head. Looking up, he saw that his hypothesis was correct. Ling stood there, smiling brightly. She looked extremely cute, and Jin was painfully reminded of Heihachi's threat. She was wearing black shorts with two vertical lines running up either side. She was wearing a tight white tank top with a panda on the front. Her pigtailed hair gave her the look of an innocent teenager. The only thing unusual about her outfit was a golden locket clasped around her long, slim neck.

"Well aren't you going to answer me?" she asked. She walked up to him and put her hand on his chest, right where his heart was. His heart rate accelerated, but he backed away. Ling looked disappointed, but Jin managed a weak smile and asked, "why don't we spar?" Ling immediately brightened up and they began. They faced each other and bowed. Jin waited for Ling to make the first move and she did, she attempted to punch him. Jin sidestepped her, and her momentum carried her past him. He launched a barrage of punches at her, leaving her unable to do anything but dodge and block. _As long as I keep her on the defensive I should be able to win._ He continued his seemingly endless attack until Ling expertly ducked under one of his punches and used the nutcracker move. She tried to turn the fight in her favor, but Jin recovered and caught her in the shoulder with a punch. He followed this up with a low kick, and a final punch that sent her flying backwards. She got back up and they ran at each other, but right before she was in range of an attack Ling jumped over Jin. He quickly turned around only to get hit in the head with a solid right punch. Backing away, he waited for her to charge. When she did, she was met by several fast punches and could only dodge. Jin then used a low kick to send her to the ground. Before she could get up and resume the fight, Jin pinned her to the floor. He trapped both her arms over her head and straddled her to keep her from kicking him. She struggled to get loose and shouted playfully, "get off me fatty, you're crushing me!" He leaned closer to her and faking a pout asked, "Do I really look that fat?" Ling stuck her tongue out at Jin and he taunted her playfully, "do that again and I'll bite your tongue off." All of a sudden they both blushed crimson as they realized the naughtier implications of that particular phrase. Jin's blush increased as he realized the position they were in. He hurriedly climbed off of her. _I'm so lucky Heihachi didn't see that,_ he thought. _I have to be more careful. _

Ling was still sitting there blushing, but when they heard noises close to the dojo both Jin and Ling returned to their separate training. Both Jin and Ling were carefully practicing their techniques when Heihachi entered the dojo. He glanced at them both, and Jin noticed that he paid very close attention to the locket around Ling's neck. "Ling, come here," he ordered, Ling looked over at him and grudgingly obeyed. Heihachi got up and told her, "give me the locket." "What? Why?" Ling asked, her face paling; however, she handed the locket over to him. Jin watched the tears gather in her eyes as Heihachi opened the locket. "What a useless trinket," he said pocketing it. Ling couldn't hold the tears in any longer, and she ran from the building crying. Jin wanted to follow her, but Heihachi's eyes bore into his back, so he went back to training.

After about three hours Jin couldn't take it anymore. He left the dojo and went back into the mansion. At the bottom of the stairs he saw Ling. Her usual pigtails were let down, her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she was clearly miserable. Seeing Jin, she ran into him and embraced him. Jin quickly looked around for anyone who might be watching them. Seeing no one he returned her embrace and thought, _I can't stand seeing her like this. I can't hide my feelings from her when she acts this way around me. I need to warn her about what Heihachi said. _

Jin gently pulled out of her embrace. Ling looked disappointed and opened her mouth to speak, but Jin put a finger to her lips, effectively quieting her. Speaking in Chinese he whispered, "we need to talk, but not here. Let's go somewhere where we won't be overheard." Ling nodded, and they headed out the side door.

The Mishima Manor was on several acres of land. Even Heihachi didn't know about every nook and cranny, but Jin did. After they reached a heavily forested area, Jin took Ling's hand and pulled her along. Though the place he was leading them to was very close, Jin made several detours to loose anyone who might be following them. When they got there Ling gasped. The place Jin had picked was gorgeous. It was a small natural clearing, and there was a bubbling stream that flowed through its middle, reflecting the sunlight. The trees swayed with the occasional summer breeze, and delicate pink, yellow, and blue flowers were scattered around the landscape. Jin felt Ling squeeze his hand, and she let out a whisper of, "beautiful." Jin smiled down at her and led her over to a large flat stone that could seat two people on the bank of the stream. He sat down on the rock, motioning for her to do the same. Ling sat down next to him and looked at him questioningly. "Ling, ever since yesterday morning I haven't been able to get you off my mind." He lifted his hand to cup her cheek and continued. "You're the only one who understands me, and it feels so right. I want you to be with you." Ling eyes widened in surprise and she blushed. "Heihachi saw us this morning he forbid me form seeing you, and said that if I did he'd hurt you." Jin tried to continue but Ling interrupted him, "I guess we'll have to keep it secret then, won't we?" After saying that she leaned up and kissed him on lips.

Jin was shocked for a second, but when Ling wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss, he responded with equal passion. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap. She put on leg on either side of him, straddling him. _Her lips taste sweet, like honey._ Wanting more, he licked her lips, and with a moan she opened her mouth to his exploring tongue. Their tongues met in a battle, but Jin quickly dominated the kiss. Unfortunately the need for oxygen drove them apart. Ling was out of breath and her shallow breath was coming out of swollen lips. Jin looked at her and kissed her again. He didn't deepen it, but instead he trailed kisses down her neck. When he got to the spot where her neck met her shoulder, he sucked at it, adding a few love bites. This caused her to moan again, and she arched her back, pressing herself against it. Jin felt all the blood in his body move to one place, and he stopped before he lost control. "That's enough," he whispered to her.

She smiled at him and turned so that her back was to him. She settled herself in his lap and leaned her head back against his chest. Jin placed his head on top of hers and wrapped his arms around her. Completely happy, they watched the sun set over the stream.

Ling snuggled closer to Jin as she watched the sunset. His strong arms tightened their grip around her and he said, "we have to get back." Ling sighed with disappointment and replied, "I know." _I wish we could stay like this forever. _Jin gently pushed her off his lap and stood up. He reached down an arm to help Ling up, and she took it. Suddenly Ling had the urge to tease her boyfriend. Leaning up to him with a hand on his heart she whispered, "you taste good. I can't wait until we do that again." The response from Jin was instantaneous. His heart rate rapidly increased, and he blushed red enough for Rudolph the reindeer to be proud. Ling giggled and grabbed his hand, skipping away from the clearing.

When they got back to the edge of the forest Jin whispered to her, "we can't arrive together, that'll seem to suspicious. You go first, and enter through the side door. I'll come five minutes later through the back door. Ling nodded to show she understood, and calmly walked back to the mansion. She opened the side door and ran into none other but Heihachi. "Where have you been?" He asked gruffly. Ling's newfound happiness drifted away to nothing, leaving hate in its place. "I decided to explore the land," she answered, glaring at him. "Very well," he replied, seeming to accept her answer, "dinner is waiting."

Ling strode into the kitchen to she a feast in the kitchen. "What's the occasion?" She asked. "Nothing," Heihachi replied. "It's just that today is Sunday and the party is Tuesday. We need to train you in the ways of proper etiquette." Ling growled. "Are you telling me I'm rude?" Ling asked through gritted teeth. "Yes, I do," he answered. Ling probably would of down the world a big favor right then and there by killing Heihachi, but Jin walked into the room at that moment murmuring an apology for being late. All three of them sat down for dinner, and throughout the meal Heihachi kept informing Ling on what she was doing wrong. At the end of dinner all three occupants were at each other's throats, and when they let the table without killing each other the maids sighed in relief.

That night Ling couldn't fall asleep. The memories of the kiss she and Jin shared earlier weighed down heavily on her mind. _I know I like him as more than a friend, but should I be starting a relationship in a situation like this? My first goal needs to remain to be getting away from Heihachi. Then after that I have to send him to jail. Evil people like him shouldn't be free. _Exhausted from all the events of that day, Ling fell into a restless sleep.

Hwoarang got up and stretched. After being on a plane from America for hours, he really needed to go outside and enjoy the fresh air. To bad it was Monday and his break wasn't until Saturday. His friend, Julia, walked beside him. Instead of enjoying the weather like he was, she had her head crammed in a book. _Is she ever not studying? _He asked himself. Quick as lightning he grabbed the book in her hands. "Hey give that back!" she yelled. Hwoarang lifted the book up to eye level. The title was written in English, gut he could read it. "The Scarlet Letter, eh," he teased her. She tried to snatch the book back, but he lifted it high above his head. "Give it up, Julia. You're too short." "The day I give up is the day I admit your hair is naturally red," she replied. Knowing that the day she admitted his hair color was natural was long in coming, he dropped the book into her hands. "Stop flirting and hurry up!" an angry voice called back to them. At the mention of them flirting Julia blushed cherry red. Never one to not embarrass his comrade Hwoarang said, "hear that, Julia-_chan._ We're flirting. Next thing you know we'll be going out. Then comes marriage and children, all twenty of them. Bet they'll all be redheads too. " Julia rolled her eyes and replied, "with the help of hair dye" before she went back to her book. Hwoarang looked around. Japan was a pretty place, but not as pretty as Julia. Ever since he met the Native American girl he had acquired an infatuation for her that over time had turned into love, and he had a strong suspicion Julia felt the same way. Julia was the adopted daughter of his employer though, and he needed this job so neither one of them ever made a move.

The necklace he was responsible for guarding was hidden in his pocket. He had had the job of guarding it since ten years of age when he had run away from home. Apart from the good pay, this job gave Hwoarang a chance to explore the world and seek out worthy opponents. Hwoarang loved to fight, but unfortunately for him the only person who could last a minute against him was Julia, and she hardly ever felt like fighting. Over his journeys he learned several languages like Chinese, Japanese, and English. The job was interesting, but Hwoarang felt like something was missing. He was 21, and for some reason he felt like he needed something more. Glancing over at Julia he thought, _maybe what I'm missing is a family. _Suddenly he heard his boss call out to him and he ran up to her to see what she wanted, banishing the previous thoughts out from his head.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out. He ran over to his employer, but she was already in a safe, sheltered spot. She saw Hwoarang and screamed, "save my baby! She's out there! Save my daughter!" With a start, Hwoarang realized she was right. Julia was in the middle of the open walkway, lying down and using the book to cover her head. Hwoarang bravely ran back and grabbed her by the hand. They started running back to the shelter when Julia let out a startled scream and collapsed. There was blood everywhere. Hwoarang lifted her up and carried her the rest of the way. Looking down, he saw one of the bullets had just skimmed her side, but another one hit and skimmed her ankle. Judging by the short distance they had run since he pulled her up, if she hadn't of gotten up to run, that bullet would've hit a vital organ and killed her. He finally reached the shelter, and trained paramedics rushed to treat Julia. Hwoarang was livid. The woman he loved had almost been killed because of some idiots who probably wanted that stupid necklace. _I swear, _he thought, _the next person to try to steal this necklace will die by my hand._

So, you like this chapter. Don't worry, I'm not going to make Hwoarang a bad guy, he just needs an explosive entrance! The story will start to develop a plot and make sense in the next chapter. Our main characters will meet, and it will be action packed. So please R&R! Your opinions are welcome, and I want to hear from you. Thanx!

Reina-183


	6. The Necklace

I'm so mad! My computer broke and now I have to use a friend's computer to type up and upload my stories! Also, my friend is doing the uploading for me so I can have longer to write (I'm a slow typer and I can only be at her house for a half an hour), so I can't check my reviews. I can't bother her everyday, so I won't be able to write and update as quickly, probably only once a week! I'm really sorry, can you guys forgive me? Anyways, here's the new chapter.

Bonds of Love

Ling slowly descended the stairs. It was seven p.m., and she was finally ready to head to the party. She had cried all day thinking about the heinous sin she would commit. Guilt still flooded her mind, but Ling pushed it to the back of her mind. With the sorrowful frown she had plastered on her face she looked like a fallen angel. Her hair flowed freely around her face and shoulders, unbound by her regular hair ties. The lovely red dress accented her figure, and the low cutting v-neck gave a teasing view of her slim neck and collarbone. It showed some of her cleavage, but in a way that wasn't sultry or overdone. The color enhanced her rich skin tone, and the tasteful gold jewelry she gave her an older, sophisticated air. Ling sighed and continued down the steps until she reached the bottom and turned left. She was to meet Jin outside by the limousine Heihachi had decided they would ride in. Her heels made clacking sounds as she walked down the large hall and the sounded echoed, creating a lonesome scene. When Ling finally got out side she spotted Jin.

He was waiting for her, right where they'd agreed to, and Ling barely contained a gasp. The outfit Jin was wearing was perfect. He wasn't suited in a suit, but he was wearing an expensive looking button down silk dress shirt. It was a bit long, but unlike the rest of his wardrobe it wasn't baggy. The top few buttons were undone to give him a very masculine look. He wore black pants that Ling noticed were just a tiny bit baggy; but then again she couldn't expect him to change over night. The pants fit him well, and suited his muscular form.

Jin turned around to open the door for her, and she gracefully sat down, shortly followed by him. The drive was silent, both of them taking in the others beauty. They finally reached the manor, and Jin reached out and took her hand in his own. Together they walked up the steps to the manor. _I feel... safe. I haven't felt safe for a long time._

Hwoarang examined the odd necklace in his hands. The jade center was set in gold plating, and it was unusually large, but that's not what was so unusual about the necklace. What was unusual was the odd pattern on the edging of the necklace. It was miniscule enough that a person had to strain their eyes to see it, yet it was a pattern rough enough for Hwoarang to feel it in his hands. Hwoarang sighed as he remembered why this jewel was so important. It was one half of a key to open some ancient Egyptian tomb that was supposedly filled with priceless jewels. It was also supposed to grant the user one wish. Both the other half of the key and the map that led to the tomb were owned by some Heihachi dude. He had tried to buy the other half of the key from CC, but she could see that he was a bad person and would only use what he found to increase his power. Hwoarang didn't really care about the supposed hidden treasures since his mission was to be able to find a fighter that could give him a good battle. He sighed and placed the necklace back in his pocket. He was supposed to attend a party for his boss Carmen Campbell or CC, but he didn't feel like dressing up. Then he saw Julia walk by dressed in a back less green dress. _Perhaps the party is worth my time, _he thought, and he hurried upstairs to get dressed.

Julia glanced up from her book to see her adopted mother there. Her mom snatched the book from her hands and said in heavily accented Japanese, "Julia! What are you doing! You're supposed to be getting ready for the party. "But mother," she pleaded reaching out for her book, "this is my senior year of high School. I need to study if I want to go to a good college." "Julia," her mother replied, handing her back her work, "do as you wish, but Hwoarang's going to be there." Julia glared at her mother, hard. She had somehow found out about Julia's secret crush on Hwoarang, and was quite amused by the whole thing. She said that Hwoarang was a strong, kind, and exceptionally handsome man that would do anything for Julia. "You should make a move," her mother nudged her in the ribs, "I can tell he likes you, but he's too worried about loosing his job to do anything. Hurry up and get with him already, I want grandchildren already!" Julia blushed bright red and replied, "sure, I'll come to the party, but you better not mention that ever again!" She got up and stormed off to her room to get dressed, but she couldn't outrun her mother's words. "At least thank him for the other day, he saved your life." Julia sighed, but didn't shout back down at her mother. She looked down at the bandage wrapped around her ankle and remembered the horrifying events of yesterday. She remembered her fear, the pain when the bullet barely missed her ankle, and the worried look in Hwoarang's usually cocky eyes when he picked her up to take her to safety. Taking one last look at her ankle she unwrapped it. The wound had mostly closed up, and it looked ok, but if Hwoarang hadn't pulled her to her feet when he did, she would be dead. _I guess I do owe him my thanks at the very least..._ Julia let her raven hair down and added a beautiful flower comb that Hwoarang had given her for her last birthday, creating a beautiful effect. Her dress was a back less green gown that shimmered softly, showing her graceful figure. Feeling totally ready, she went to go find her hero.

Jin glanced around suspiciously at the crowd. He was looking for a tall red head, but no one fit that description. Ling was clutching his arm tightly, and he could tell she didn't want to do this. _She's too nice for this, _he thought. He squeezed her hand in an act of reassurance, and she smiled brightly up at him. "I can't find him right now, so why don't we take a seat." Ling nodded and they headed over to the sitting area, but suddenly Jin heard the music start to play. It was a slow dance, and he stopped Ling from heading to her seat by asking, "would you like to dance?" Ling nodded and they moved to the dance floor.

Julia looked around for Hwoarang. He was no where to be seen, but that didn't really surprise Julia. He had to remain inconspicuous for the obvious reason of staying hidden, but she still wanted to see him. Suddenly she was grabbed form behind by strong arms. "Hwoarang get off of me," she told him, plainly annoyed. "Fine," he grumbled and let go of her. She turned around to take a look at him and rolled her eyes. He would never act his age and dress up. "What?" he asked, seemingly confused. "Julia this is a nice out fit. It's not crappy denim or anything." Hwoarang was clad in a casual black dress shirt that was nice enough, but he was also wearing slightly baggy slacks. "Hwoarang, who wears baggy pants to a party like this?" she asked.

Hwoarang rolled his eyes and started to walk away but Julia grabbed him. "Hwoarang," she said quietly. He turned around, obviously surprised by her sudden change in demeanor, and Julia continued. "I wanted to say thank you for yesterday." Hwoarang shrugged and replied, "no prob, Jules," but Julia could see that his uncaring response was all an act. His regularly calm face had hints of a faint blush, and his lips were upturned in a small smile. Building her courage, Julia leant up and lightly brushed his cheek with her soft lips. She pulled back, but Hwoarang caught her and hugged her. Julia was shocked, but she returned the tender embrace, burying her head in his chest. _This feels so right _she thought. She wanted to stay like that as long as possible, but Hwoarang pulled away. She looked up at him, disappointed that he didn't want her, but he asked, "Julia, would you dance with me?" Julia looked up at him and smiled answering, "I guess I might have time for a badly dressed redhead like you."

Ling relaxed into Jin, her fears from the mission temporarily abated. He was so warm, and she let him guide her over the dance floor. She opened her eyes and gave a strangled gasp. A tall redheaded man was naught but a few people away, talking to a girl in a green dress. Could it be Hwoarang? "What is it?" Jin asked. Afraid of giving herself away, Ling glanced back in Hwoarang's direction. Jin followed the trail of her eyes, and saw him too. "Hwoarang," he muttered. "Ling it's time." "Here? Now? But everyone will see us." "Shh," Jin warned. We're not going to fight him, yet. Let's lead him away from all the others, outside." Ling glanced at Hwoarang. He and the girl in the green dress were dancing, and ling commented, "I don't think he'll leave her." Jin sighed. "You're right. Oh well, we'll just have to invite the girl too. The question is, how do we get them to go with us?" Ling suddenly had an idea. "Let me do the talking."

Ling walked up to Julia and Hwoarang and asked, "hi, do I know you two from somewhere?" Julia and Hwoarang looked confused, but Julia answered, "no...I don't think so." "Are you sure?" Ling asked. "Well, you do have a familiar face," Julia replied, analyzing her closely. "Well even if I don't know you, would you and your friend mind showing us around. This is a beautiful house, and I would like to see more of it." Julia's face brightened at the thought of giving someone an educational tour of her second home. "Sure," she replied ecstatically, and dragging Hwoarang along she started to lead Ling and Jin out of the ballroom. Ling felt Jin lightly nudge her, and he whispered, "well done."

Ling followed the girl through her house, waiting for the right moment. It had to be a relatively large room with only one door, and it had to be far enough away from the ballroom so that no one could hear them. Finally Julia led them to such a place. The large room was big enough to fight in, and it was on the third story. Ling slowly locked the door, and a loud click was heard. "What are you doing?" the girl asked anxiously. Ling didn't reply, but she got into a fighting pose, feeling so guilty. Jin did the same beside her and he calmly told Hwoarang, "give me the necklace and no one gets hurt. "No," Hwoarang laughed and continued, "if you think you and that little girl can take me on you're sadly mistaken." He and his friend prepared to fight, and Ling thought _she knows how to fight too? This could cause trouble._

The other girl lunged at her but Ling held her ground and blocked her punch. She aimed a kick at the girl's head, but the girl blocked it. _She isn't that fast, but somehow she's blocking my moves._ The fight went on like this with neither fighter gaining or loosing any favor. Thenthe girl made an attempt to kick Ling in the stomach, and Ling saw her opportunity to gain an advantage. Nimbly leaping from the ground, she landed on the girl's extended legs, and pushing down she leaped off over her opponent's head. Before her opponent could turn around, Ling aimed a low kick at her and sent her tumbling to the ground. Before she could strike again her opponent rolled to the side and tripped her. Ling felt the cool marble floor on the back of her arms, and she immediately sprang up and used her momentum to kick her opponent. The girl was sent tumbling backwards and Ling chased after her to deliver the final blow. The girl was dizzy, and there was fresh blood dripping down her shoulder. Ling instantly felt guilty, but that guilt gave her opponent time to launch an attack. The kick caught Ling in the side of the head and sent her crashing to the ground. She felt her leg give, and pain ran through her left ankle. Holding back the pain and tears she righted her footing, and blocked the girl's next attack. Ling tripped her and the girl collapsed. As the girl's head was about to hit the ground, Ling remembered the hard marble floor. She raced forward and caught the girl right before her head hit. The barely conscious girl stared up at Ling and weakly asked "why did you save me?" Ling looked down at the somewhat older girl and answered quietly, her voice hardly louder than a whisper, "I'm already a thief. I don't want to be a murderer too." Ling set the girl down and watched the fight between Jin and Hwoarang.

Neither one was landing any hits whatsoever, and they were tiring at the same pace. Ling knew they had to get the necklace soon, for someone would definitely notice that Hwoarang was missing. She started to look for an opening in the fight but she didn't want to have to do anything to extreme. She was tired from her previous fight with the other girl, who was a very good fighter. Her ankle was killing her, and Ling looked down to see it swollen with large bruises. Suddenly the red headed fighter noticed his companion lying on the ground, and his eyes turned red with rage. He dodged Jin's next attack completely but instead of trying to launch a counter, he changed direction and ran towards Ling. "You! You were the one that hurt her." She tried to block his ferocious kick, but she was already tired and weakened, and the kick flung her to the ground like a rag doll. She landed hard on her left shoulder, but luckily she didn't break anything. She attempted to get back up, but another strong hit sent her back to the floor. This time Ling didn't even bother to try and et herself back up, she knew her body was to weak. Hwoarang lifted her to the ground and slammed her against the wall. Pain exploded from the back of Ling's head as it hit the wall. Hwoarang continually punched her, and just as she was about to loose consciences she hit him in the head. He backed away, and she weakly threw another punch. It hit him in the chest, but she was so drained of energy it didn't do much.

Suddenly Hwoarang was thrown to the side, and an extremely angry Jin went after him. He punched him three consecutive times before Hwoarang was able to block him. Jin's eyes were glowing red, and his nails lengthened and sharpened to form claws. Hwoarang's eyes widened and Jin continued to beat into him, blood flying into the air with each attack. Jin backed him into a corner and continued his assault. Hwoarang was soon too injured to fight, and Jin raised his clawed hand, readying the final blow. "Nooo!!!" Ling screamed. She ran across the room, ignoring her ankle, and grabbed Jin's arm. "You can't!" Jin struggled against her arm, and Ling knew he was far to strong for her to contain. She released him and put herself in front of Hwoarang. "Don't do it!" she screamed at Jin. He growled at her and Ling felt fear grip her._ Is this even Jin? Will he hurt me?_ "Get out of my way girl." He spat and Ling looked defiantly up into his now blood red orbs. "No!" she replied. He lifted his fist back and punched her in the stomach. His strength was more powerful than anything Ling had felt before, and she could see black dots dancing in front of her face. She willed herself not to collapse, and she kept her place between Jin and Hwoarang. Desperate, she closed the distance between herself and the monster and while taking both his clawed, bloodied hands in her own she asked, "Jin, don't you remember me? It's Ling." He didn't respond to her plea, so she leaned up and kissed him. The red in his eyes faded and Ling could feel the claws on is hand retract back to nails. She broke away from their kiss and stepped back in front of Hwoarang just in case it didn't work. "Ling," he whispered. She nodded and satisfied with the fact that she saved another life, she passed out.

Jin looked at the unconscious girl in his arms. After she had passed out in his arms, Hwoarang had followed, collapsing against the wall. A trail of blood was left behind, and it guiltily reminded Jin of how he had acted. He searched Hwoarang's pockets and found the necklace. He slipped it around his neck and he carried it and Ling out of the house. Ling was silent, and he wished she would wake up. Jin felt horrible for punching her, but in that weird state he couldn't remember her. He walked over to the waiting limousine, and the doorman quickly opened the door for them. Stroking her hair he thought, _what happened? Whatever it is, I need to learn how to control it. I could hurt her worse if it happens again. _ Jin felt Ling stirring in his arms and she looked up at him. "Did I hurt you?" he asked. "No," she replied. She suddenly switched to Chinese and said, "I don't think we should tell Heihachi about what happened. Me neither," Jin replied. The limousine stopped in front of the Mishima Manor, and Jin and Ling climbed out of the car. Jin saw Ling heavily limping, and he easily scooped her into his arms. "Thanks," she told him.

Heihachi was waiting for them in the entrance hall, and Jin tossed him the necklace. "What happened?" he asked. They walked over to the living room where Jin set Ling down on the couch. "There were two well trained guards. We both defeated them, but they managed to leave us with a few souvenirs." Jin completed his statement, and Heihachi replied "very well." He turned to Ling and told her, "your ankle is probably just sprained, but I'll have the doctor look at it tomorrow. In the meantime, Jin will wrap it for you. Get a good night's rest and be down here tomorrow to get your ankle checked out. Good night." Heihachi walked away, and Jin lifted Jin in his arms to carry her up to his room and wrap her ankle.

He got out and while he was wrapping it he commented, "Heihachi's right, it's only a sprain." Ling nodded and got up, trying to avoid putting her weight on her right ankle. She limped up to Jin and sweetly kissed him. He closed his eyes and responded gently, wrapping his arms around her. She tasted so good to him,_ like strawberries, _he thought. The kiss was over too soon for Jin and Ling limped across the hall to her room. "See ya tomorrow," she called back to him. "Good night Ling," he replied. He changed into some nightclothes and went to sleep.

_He was confused. Blood stained his claws. Wait claws! Terrified he looked around. He was in a strange place. Blackness surrounded him, but he could make out sand. It was all around him, and it stretched on for what seemed like forever. To his right was a large pyramid. It was unfamiliar, and there were no other landmarks around him to tell him where he was. Something inside him urged him towards the pyramid, and he walked into the entrance. Ancient hieroglyphics were painted on the walls, and they led away into various tunnels. He walked further in and tripped. Looking down he saw a feminine arm. He followed the arm back to its owner and gasped. It was the girl from the party! Her eyes were wide with terror, and she had a large claw mark that ran along the center of her chest. Did I kill her? Looking further up her saw the body of Hwoarang similarly slaughtered. A trail of blood led away from their bodies, and Jin had a sickening idea of who it would lead to. His worst fears were realized when he saw Ling sprawled by the wall. The necklace they had just stolen lay by her hand. She was clawed up, and Jin was forced to look away with tears threatening to spill. He let them loose and looked back at Ling. He gathered her up in his arms. She looked so peaceful. An air of finality lay around her still form and Jin hugged her closer. _

Jin woke up. He was covered in sweat, and his blankets were in a tangled pile at the end of his bed. _It was only a dream, _he told himself. Still, it unsettled him. For the rest of the night he stayed up pondering what he saw. Looking at his hands he thought, _could I really kill anyone? _Jin startled himself by realizing that he didn't know the answer to that.

Hwoarang awoke to several doctors over him. He had several bandages wrapped around his torso and arms. He remembered what happened and turned to see a weak Julia sitting up in a bed beside his. She looked at him and nodded, and Hwoarang realized she was answering his many unasked questions. Yes she was all right, and yes, she wanted revenge. Suddenly a gasp was heard, and CC, his employer and Julia's mom rushed in. First she ran to Julia and hugged her, asking her if she was all right. Then, suprisingly, she ran up to Hwoarang and embraced him asking, "are you all right?" Hwoarang was taken aback and asked, "I'm not fired?" CC wiped some tears from her eyes and said, "no. You're like a son to me. How could I fire you. Besides, it's my fault. I shouldn't have left a responsibility as big as guarding that necklace to only one person."

She spoke to him and said, "I'm trusting you want your revenge?" Hwoarang nodded and she continued, "my sources tell me that it was the Mishima's who planned the robbery. You're to seek employment from Heihachi, as an assassin. Find out where the necklace is, and steal it from under his nose. He'll trust you if you say you were fired and want revenge." Hwoarang nodded once again. Julia interrupted, "let me go to mom. I want revenge, and unlike Mr. Macho here, I can keep a cool head." "No!" both her mother and Hwoarang replied instantly. "It's too dangerous, Honey," her mother added. "I don't care, that won't stop me. If you don't give me permission I can sneak out." A stubborn glaze appeared in her eyes and Hwoarang knew that they were fighting a loosing battle. Apparently her mom did too, and she conceded saying, "OK Julia. But I'll have to hide any records of your adoption." Julia nodded and her mother left.

"Julia, you shouldn't go," Hwoarang told her. In his head he added to himself, _I don't want to loose the woman I love._ "No! I'm going too! This is my fight also!" Hwoarang gave up and replied, "do what you want, but if you get so much as a scratch, I'm sending you back home. And remember, that Jin guy is mine to defeat!"

So, what do you think? I want to know what you think! Please R&R!

Reina-183


	7. RedEyed Figure

_Hey I'm back with a new chapter! My computer's fixed and I can't wait to update! I also had a chance to check my reviews so here it goes:_

_**To Lucky71:** Thanx for the support! People like you and TheWishOfNight make me want to update even faster!_

_**To Riri: **Thanx for the complements! They really help me to write!_

_**To Ignes Fatui: **They say great Minds think alike and I guess they're right! Thanks for suggesting the thing about the necklace! I must have gotten a subliminal message or something!_

_**To TheWishOfNight: **Thanx for the continual support! Both you and Ignes Fatui have been there since the beginning, and you really inspire me to write!_

_**To Jill: **Thanx for the complements! Don't worry, I hate Jin/Julia and Hwoarang/Ling pairings (no offense to those who do like those pairings). I promise it won't change!_

_To **Sunshine:** Thank you so much! I was really happy when I read how much you liked my story!_

_**To Kari: **Thanx! I think you should keep with your story! Just divide it into chapters and it will seem shorter! I'm looking forward to the day you publish it!_

_**To xInfernal: **Thanks for the comments I sooooo agree! Keep reviewing. I hope you like this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken...Waaaaaaaaaaaah! I want Jin and Hwoarang!_

Bonds of love

Julia and Hwoarang both stepped out of Hwoarang's car. _My mom must pay him a lot, _she realized. Hwoarang drove a sleek new Red 2005 XK Ferrari that he had brought with them from America. Together they walked towards the Mishima Mansion. The gate opened for them, and they headed inside. Last night Hwoarang had booked job interviews with Mr. Mishima, and Julia cringed at the thought of working for the man who her mother described as a pompous, arrogant ass. Julia shivered when she saw the mansion, and Hwoarang took her hand for comfort. The mansion was large and very ornate, but it felt evil, as if many bad things had happened there.

Hwoarang swung the door open, and a maid walked up to them. "Hello," Julia greeted, "could you lead us to Mr. Mishima's office?" The maid nodded and turned to lead them to Mr. Mishima's office, but Julia noticed the way she looked at her Hwoarang. To make conversation and to tick the maid off Julia said, "my **_boyfriend_** and I are here to do a interview with Mr. Mishima." The nurse literally steamed with anger and replied, "I hope you do well. Here is Mr. Mishima's office." The maid angrily stomped away, and Hwoarang joked, "who's your boyfriend Jules?" Julia smartly replied, "he's a tall hot looking Korean redhead, but unfortunately he's in need of a brain transplant, and they don't have any spare ones for him to use. He's so stupid, but it's really sad." Hwoarang laughed and exclaimed, "but at least I have the looks!" Julia turned and said, "who said I was talking about you?" Before Hwoarang could come up with a smart response to that Julia opened the door. They saw Heihachi sitting behind his desk filing papers. _What odd hair, _Julia thought.

"Ah, I see you've made it. I've been looking through your resumes, very impressive. Come in. Pull up a chair. Julia did as he said and soon Mr. Mishima had started asking questions. "I already know you two are talented fighters since you managed to harm my other employees, but what about other skills? Do you speak any foreign languages?" "Hwoarang and I both speak fluent Chinese, Korean, and English. I also speak a bit of Spanish and French, but not enough to be considered fluent," Julia replied. Leaning closer to them Heihachi asked, "why do you two want these jobs?" Julia was about to answer, but Hwoarang had already began to explain. "We want revenge on our old boss, and what better way to get it than working for her arch nemeses?" Heihachi examined them closely, but neither one of them showed any signs of deceit. "Very well. You start today, thank you for your time." Julia was about to get up and leave, but Heihachi held them back. "Your rooms will be upstairs. Just ask Ling Xiaoyu, if she'll talk to you, where they are. They're right to the left of her room." With that he went back to his paper work, and Julia and Hwoarang left the office. _Ling's a Chinese name. Would someone really come all the way here for a job? Then again, Hwoarang's Korean. _"So, shall we find Ms. Ling?" Julia nodded, and they headed off in search of the girl.

Ling sighed. It had been a week since her last mission and while her ankle still gave an occasional twinge of pain, it was mostly all right. Jin had forced her to stop training after she had collapsed from a single kick when they fought. _It was a hard kick, _Ling thought angrily, wanting to go back to training. Instead of that though, she was forced to take some lame rest period while Jin was improving his skills at a rapid pace. Bored, Ling thought about the fight against Hwoarang and what had happened to Jin. _What was that_ _thing that possessed him? How can we insure it never happens again? This is so scary...What was wrong with Jin to make him act that way? Is there something he's not telling me? _

Someone tapping her on the shoulder instantly dispersed Ling's thoughts. Behind her stood a girl, and she was probably 18 or 19, only a few years older than Ling herself. Her brown hair was parted down the center and put into two long braids, and she was wearing a regular outfit with some old west Cowboy boots. Her pretty brown eyes hinted at intelligence and she seemed to be a nice person. Behind her stood a redheaded man with short spiky hair. He was wearing a tight white T-shirt that showed off his muscles and a pair of baggy camouflage army pants. Ling got ready to fight, recognizing the man as Hwoarang and the woman as the girl he was with. Julia laughed and held out her hand. "Hi, my name is Julia. I see you remember me from the other night. We've been hired by Heihachi to work with you guys. From now on we're on your side." Ling hid her sigh of relief and took Julia's hand. She replied, "Hi, my name is Ling Xiaoyu." They let go of each other's hands and Hwoarang asked, "could you show us to our rooms. Heihachi said that they were just to the left of yours?" Ling nodded, and the three of them headed up to the mansion.

"Here you go," Ling opened the door to Julia's room, and pointed to the room straight across stating, "I think that's your room Hwoarang." Julia smiled her thanks and headed inside. Hwoarang just nodded. Once they were inside, Ling decided to sneak back to the dojo and get some training. On her way down the stairs, Ling wasn't looking at the direction she was heading and ran into someone. She felt firm muscles against her cheek, and muscular arms pulled her away from him. She stared into the handsome face of Jin who was frowning in what seemed to be slightly amused irritation. "Were you trying to get past me to sneak out and train?" He lifted one of his eyebrows in skepticism, and Ling knew she had been caught. She folded her arms against her chest, and used the fact that she had one step to add to her height, she glared at him with all the ferocity she could muster. Apparently it wasn't much, because Jin burst up laughing. "You look as ferocious as a bunny rabbit!" Ling rolled her eyes and tried t use his distraction to his advantage by slipping past him, but Heihachi was awaiting her at the bottom of the stairs. "Hello young lady. I have a new mission for all of you. Get the others and meet me down in the office. Ling grudgingly obliged, and she ventured back upstairs to find Julia and Hwoarang. Soon both of them were trailing after her, and they quietly headed to Hwoarang's office. Inside he greeted them and went straight to business.

"Sorry to inform you on such short notice," he began, "but one of my informants has brought something very important to light. My main competitor has come to town, and he has some information that would not be good if it was handed out to the public. Tonight you are to sneak in and destroy the DVD that carries the information. Here are your supplies." He handed each of them a box, and Ling gaped in shock at what was inside. There was a handgun, a long dagger for hand to hand combat, and a small earpiece for communication. Ling looked around. Julia didn't look shocked, but her hands shook as she lifted the gun from the box. Hwoarang was expertly testing the gun out, and Jin was looking at it as if it was a disgusting tool. "The rest of the day will be spent getting prepared for the mission. Inside the box are special outfits as well as the map of the compound and the place where the DVD will be hidden. The combination is as follows, 10-29-56. Don't forget it. Be here at 8:30, ready to go." Ling nodded as her mind shakily remembered the combination. Suddenly Julia spoke up. "Sir, do expect us to kill anyone with these things." Heihachi grinned evilly and replied "only if necessary."

Ling left Heihachi's office feeling sick, and Julia looked almost as bad. Jin seemed to be coping well, and Hwoarang showed no expression. The gun was tucked securely in his pocket, which acted almost as a holster. Ling stepped into her room and shut the door before breaking down. She collapsed to the floor with her head in her hands, and she heard the box land on the floor somewhere near her, along with a deadly mechanism that's purpose was to steal lives. Rocking back and forth, she tried to calm down. _What am I going to do? Can I kill a person? No, I don't think so. I'd rather give up my life than take another...but would I do it to save others? What about Jin? Would I kill someone to save him? Would I kill another to save my family?_ Ling was tormented by images of people's bodies, dead. And each time she was the one holding the gun. She was the one who ended their lives, like a scissors to thread in a single snip, or in this case a single shot into the head or heart. I single tear slid down her face as she realized she didn't know the answer to the last few questions. And uncertainty was the difference between life and death. Slowly the one tear turned into two, then three, and soon an entire river was flowing down her face as Ling wept herself into the deep ravine of despair.

Julia stared at the gun in her hand. Questions and fears crept into her mind, a deadly virus that attacked even the strongest. Her hands shook as she quoted to herself, "the only thing I have to fear is fear itself." She heard weeping from the one of the rooms next to hers, and she knew one of their member had given in, given up. Face pale, she removed the outfit she was to wear from the box. She slipped into it, hating how it was skin tight, and that it was all black. _I feel like an angel of death._ Quivering hands slid the sheathed dagger into the special place on the suit, as well as the gun. Julia took a deep breath and slid on the ski mask like helmet, careful to pull her hair up and out of view. She stepped outside into the hall and saw Hwoarang coming out too. His outfit was slightly more modest, but fundamentally the same. He was trying to look calm, but Julia could tell that even he was internally as wrecked as she was. She walked up to him and slid her hand through his. This simple sign of comfort reassured both of them that no matter what happened, they were there for each other.

Julia weakly smiled at him and slowly moved towards him. Leaning up, her lips met his. The kiss wasn't aggressive, as one would expect from Hwoarang, but gentle and caring. They shared their fears and uncertainty, and breaking apart they felt much better. Together they headed down the stairs to face this mission.

Jin stood outside Ling's door, listening to her tears. Slowly, he opened the door and walked in. She was rocking back and forth, land she looked like a China doll, fragile enough that the slightest touch might shatter her. He gently leaned into her and brushed away her tears with the back of his thumbs, cupping her face with his large hands. She wasn't dressed in the outfit she needed to wear, and the supplies were strewn across the floor. She glanced at him, and every fear and hidden emotion was shared. They understood each other without words. Ling got up and motioned for Jin to leave the room. He waited, and in a few minutes, she came out in her outfit.

"I guess it's time to go," she said. Jin just nodded and kissed her on the forehead. They walked down the stairs ready for anything that would dare test them.

The drive was silent, and as Ling looked around, she could see everyone else was as nervous as she was. The end of the drive was a relief from the depressing atmosphere and Ling hurriedly scurried out of the limousine. Heihachi accompanied them and as one last warning he spoke. "This complex isn't too heavily guarded, but there is one person I know that you should avoid at all costs. I don't know what his name is, but he is said to have the glaring red eyes of the devil. He's undefeated, and I want you too avoid him at all costs. Remember to use your communicators to stay in touch. Good luck."

The four of them grimly pulled out their maps. Heihachi had pulled in a block away so that he wouldn't be seen. They followed the map in silence, leading them to the complex. Suddenly Julia halted them. "We should come up with a plan of attack. There are five different halls that lead to the safe. All of us going down one of them would be stupid since we could be easily ambushed. The middle hall will probably be the most watched since it'd the shortest route. The middle hall also has a large widow that faces the center right hall, so whoever takes that one will have to be small and speedy. The center left is the longest and it has the most security cameras, so the person who goes down that route will have to know technology. The outside halls will be the second most heavily guarded, so the two strongest fighters will take that route. Jin, you go down the hall to the far right since you're probably very strong to stand up o Hwoarang. Hwoarang you go down the far left. Ling I know that you're speedy and you're the shortest, so you go down the center right hall, and I'll take the center left since I know how to remove the security cameras. If anyone needs help, they call the others. Whoever gets there first and destroys the tape will tell us so that we can head back. Got it?" Everybody nodded, and they quietly crept into the building through a window carelessly left open.

Ling watched her teammates go down the other halls, and she headed down her own. The hallway was dark and dreary, and Ling edged along the wall silently. So far there weren't any guards or traps, but Ling didn't let her guard down. She saw the window Julia had told her about, and in the other hallway she could see the other guards stationed. She kept out of sight, but struggled not to make a sound when she saw the strangest man. He was tall, about Jin's height, and he had the same spiky hair. In fact he could have easily passed for Jin if it weren't for his blood red eyes and security outfit. He turned in her direction and she ducked under the window, pressing herself into the wall. There was a ledge right above her head, so unless he could lean through the plexi-glass window to look down, he couldn't see her. Even so she held her breath, not making a sound for fear she would be caught. She edged along wall below the window before coming to the edge of both the window and the ledge. This was bad. Because of the ledge she had no way to know if he was still there or not, and if he was still watching her and she moved, with out the ledge to guard her from sight, she was in sight of him. Over the ear-piece she heard Julia. "Everyone, be careful. I've just heard one of the guards, they're currently running a search of the entire place. I've already had to knock seven people out, and I think that they've began to notice the missing people." Ling gulped. It looked like she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Then Julia screamed and her intercom went dead. "Julia," Ling whispered. "Julia, Julia, Julia!" Over the intercom she could hear Hwoarang yelling the same thing while Jin muttered curses under his breath. Suddenly, she heard a gunshot, and with a grunt of pain from him, Jin's signal went dead. "Jin!" she cried out. "Shh... Keep your voice down," Hwoarang warned. "Just because their lines went dead doesn't mean that they're hurt or anything." However, Ling started to panic, and it only intensified when she heard Hwoarang's signal die after a loud string of swearing from him. All that was left was a buzzing static.

Then she heard footsteps coming down the hall. The guards were coming. Tears filled her eyes as her adrenaline took over. Faster than she thought possible, Ling took off from her hiding place and sprinted down the hall. Her steps noisily echoed on the linoleum floor and her ankle protested the rough treatment, but at the moment she didn't care. Her mind somewhat processed the footsteps behind her going into a sprint, but she was running much faster than them, and their footsteps were already fading away. She came to the place where all the hallways met the safe room, and she saw the safe in the back right-hand corner. Julia lay unconscious on the floor, and Ling almost slowed her desperate pace. Then she remembered that Jin and Hwoarang were also in similar conditions and she kept her pace. She stopped her crazy sprint right before the safe door. Desperately she opened the safe and inside lay the DVD. She grabbed it and unsheathed her dagger. Stabbing like mad she quickly reduced the DVD to a pile of data. Worried that they might still be able to fix it she grabbed some of the pile and slipped it into the sheath of her dagger.

Ling hurried over to Julia, and cried, "wake up! Wake up! I destroyed it! Let's leave already!" Julia opened her eyes and whispered something incomprehensible. "What?" Ling asked, clearly confused. "Leave now, I-I-It's a trap." With that she passed out again. Ling dragged Julia up from the floor and wrapped an arm around her waist to support her. Dragging the taller girl, she headed towards the far right hallway where she knew Jin was. Julia was too far gone to understand or protest her decision, and Ling kept thinking, _Jin, please be all right! Please! _Her heroic thoughts were ruined when Hwoarang joined her in the safe room. He was bleeding profusely from his head, but he seemed to be doing fine. "Yo," he greeted, before hauling Julia off of her and carrying her himself. The injured trio headed towards Jin's hallway, but they were stopped by a figure. Jin stood there, clutching a severely bleeding arm. "Jin!" Ling exclaimed, and rushed over to him. He smiled weakly at her and replied, "let's get out of this place." They all had started back when a new figure emerged from the shadows. He looked up to reveal startling red eyes, and setting his eyes upon Jin he smirked. "Miss me son?" Jin growled "Father." _Father! _Ling thought dismayed. Then she remembered. It was when she had first come here.

"_I'm just like you!" he replied to her, and she could hear his voice getting louder with every syllable. "Five years ago, my good for nothing father left my mother and I. Heihachi, whose my grandfather, took advantage of that and kidnapped my mother, faking her death. Without any other family, I was forced under his custody! If I don't do what he orders me to do, then he'll kill my mother! So yes I do know what you're going through, and no I can't take you back to China!"_

_Oh my god! What's happening?_ "You guys go ahead. I have some business to tae care of." Ling looked at him shocked. "No!" she replied. "I'm not going to let you stay here and kill yourself! You're hurt, come with us!" She motioned to herself Hwoarang and Julia. Jin shook his head and told her, "this man is the cause of my pain, and my mother's captivity. I can't just leave that alone." "Then let me stay with you!" Ling interrupted angrily. "No," she pleaded, "I don't want to." Jin firmly shook his head and told her, "you can't stay here with me. Go now!"

Ling lowered her head and tears streamed down her face. Angrily she turned to Hwoarang and they took off back along the hallway. "You know if that was Julia, I wouldn't have said no," Hwoarang started. "He told me he didn't want me there," Ling rebutted. "No he didn't," Hwoarang argued. "He said you couldn't be there, not that he didn't want you to be there, and personally I don't see any physical boundaries stopping you so..." Ling sprinted back up the hallway shouting back "thanks!" Hwoarang shook his head. "Kids," he murmured, carrying Julia to safety.

Jin looked around. His father, Kazuya was grinning ear to ear. _That arrogant ass, _Jin thought. Then again, he was tired, and he couldn't use his right arm. His father had every right to be grinning. Suddenly an image came to his mind. It was his mother, crying over the man who left them. More images. His mother teaching him martial arts. His mother smiling at his birthday. His mother being captured by Heihachi. Anger and pain, bottled up for five years swelled up inside of him, and he charged at Kazuya. Kazuya easily dodged him, smirking, and Jin felt a sharp pain in his skull. In his tired state he hadn't even seen the punch coming! Getting reoriented he was ready for the next punch and dodged it. His father's punches came quickly and powerfully, and without his right arm, Jin couldn't do much. His father kicked him in the side to end the pitiful game of cat and mouse. He picked up a gun and said, "now, now, are we ready to die yet?" Not waiting for a reply he clicked off the safety. Jin watched the gun. He refused to die scared, with his eyes closed. He heard the shot and also heard a scream. He watched, in slow motion, the bullet whiz past his left ear, barely missing him. Looking up from the bullet, his eyes saw the gun on the ground. Looking further up, he saw his father, getting up from the ground. He looked furious. Then Jin's eyes caught the cause the cause of his anger. Ling was rushing over to him. "Jin, are you OK? We have to get you out of here!" _She knocked the gun from his hand-! _Was all Jin's mind could understand.

Ling pulled him up, but his father immediately tackled her to the ground. Jin watched the struggle with extreme anger. Ling was dodging fairly well, but every strike she hit barely effected his father and every strike she took was wearing her down fast. His vision flashed red as he watched his father hurt her. His nails grew longer, forming deadly claws, and he felt the wound in his arm heal, becoming better than before. Black wings swiftly emerged from his back, along with numerous markings and tattoos. Only one thing flashed in his mind, _revenge, _and he'd be damned if he didn't get it. That was the last sane thought he had before he charged at his father.

_OK, what do you think? Please R&R!_

_ Also I was online and I just realized there is an amazing shortage of good quality Xiaojin and HwoarangJulia fics. The ones that are out there are fantastic, but I wish there were more! So if you're reading this please write a Xiaojin or HwoarangJulia fic., or both! FF net really needs more!_

_**Thank you. Till next chapter**_

_**Reina-183**_


	8. New friends, Discoveries, and Egypt!

Hola! I'm back with a new chapter! This story is going to start to take a major turn from being more romantic to being more dramatic. On the other hand, Halloween is coming! I can't wait! I think I might write a Tekken Halloween special, but I'm not sure...Anyway, thank you to all that reviewed! Please continue! I hope you like this chapter!

_Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken or any of its' characters. **Sigh**_

Bonds of Love 

Ling felt the wind get knocked out of her. The pain was instantaneous, and she coughed up blood from the extremely powerful hit. She stumbled backwards, and black spots were spinning in front of her eyes. She almost collapsed, but something inside her drove her onwards, despite the pain. He came at her again, red eyes glinting like the fiery pits of hell, and a smile plastered on his face. _He's enjoying this! _Angered by her realization, she lunged forward and caught him in the side of his head with a right punch. It didn't seem to effect him much, and he came back after her, grinning like the devil himself. Ling dodged his ferocious punches, jumping when he tried to trip her. The fight continued like this, with Ling masterfully dodging his attacks. Something about his style felt familiar, and Ling suddenly thought, _his fighting style is almost exactly like Jin's!_ She suddenly smiled as his moves took on patterns that were relatively easy to read. After all, how many times had she fought Jin and watched him train?

Wisely, she chose not to launch an offensive. It would use up too much energy, and she always lost to Jin _after _she made an attack. She would wait for him to make a mistake, then she would attack. Ling waited, dodging, but everything about his style was perfect. He left no space for an opening, and Ling felt the sudden urge to run away. He finally landed a hit on her, sending her flying to the ground with a yelp of pain. Before he could hit her again she rolled to the side and flipped up. Her ankle gave a sharp pain. It wasn't ready for fighting on this level again. She kicked him as hard as she could, and it sent him stumbling back a bit. He laughed at her as he regained his footing, and that dreadful sound sent prickles of fear running up Ling's spine.

He lunged at her, and Ling barely skidded out of the way in time. _I have to do something fast. I can't keep this up for much longer. _The black spots came back into motion as she thought this, forming critical blind spots. Jin's father continued his assault and Ling was left with no time to think. All there was time for was dodging. He aimed a kick straight at her stomach, and Ling jumped onto his outstretched leg, trying the same move she had against Julia, and using her momentum to carry her over his head. It worked, but when Ling landed her ankle gave out and she crashed to the floor. Jin's father calmly walked up to her, and Ling felt overrun by fear. She tried to get u, but Jin's father stepped on her back. Utterly defeated, she hardly even bothered to move her body when he lifted her up by the collar to see her eye to eye. Her limbs were dead from over exertion, and she felt extremely fortunate not to have any broken bones, or worse. She starred into burning red eyes, and they critically analyzed her.

"My son found a girl. This is quite the development..." His voice was deep and sounded almost like Jin's, but there was something wrong with it, as if he were truly evil. "I wonder, do you think he'd hate me even more if I snapped your skinny neck in half?" He grinned and moved his arm to her neck. Ling cringed back in fear, but there was nothing she could do. "No, I think it'd be better if I suffocated you to death. That is supposed to be one of the most painful ways to die." His cold hand started to apply pressure to her neck, and Ling felt her air supply cut off. The black spots returned with a vengeance, and Ling's body came to life. Her legs kicked at him and her hands desperately clawed at his hands and arms. This did nothing but leave deep crescent marks on his hands, the same hideous shade as his eyes. Her lungs exploded as she gasped for air, for beautiful life, and her hand brushed the handle of her dagger. _Could I? _She thought.

Time seemed to pause as she lifted the dagger from its' sheath. With one final burst of strength, she grabbed the dagger and plunged it into his upper arm, where it met his shoulder. She saw his eyes widen in pain as he let go of her, and she slowly fell to the ground without him to hold her up. On her way down she saw Jin and time seemed to stop. Jin's eyes were as red as his father's, and besides the claws, tattoos marked his body, along with a pair of raven black wings that sprouted from his back, and a menacing jewel in the center of his forehead. _Oh my God! _Then things sped back up, and Ling felt her head hit the floor with a menacing crack. There was an explosion of pain, and then things painfully faded to a deep black.

Jin slowly got up from the floor. To his side he saw a girl falling to the ground. Their eyes met, and for a brief instant that seemed like a small eternity, his hatred faded away to be replaced with a different emotion he couldn't quite place. Then the girl's head hit the floor and the connection was lost. The hatred returned, and it was all focused on one person, his father. Jin lunged at him and sliced open his chest. The man backed away and then laughed. The sound was horrible, and only made Jin want to kill this man faster.

His father laughed and cackled, "what an interesting development. It seems I passed this gene on to my son." He walked forward, and when he got to the girl he brutally kicked her body across the floor. For some reason this angered Jin, and he glared back up at his father. His father cackled once again, and Jin glared at him. He prepared an attack, but stopped suddenly. Before him his father was transforming into a creature that looked exactly like him. "Until next time, Jin." With that last warning he flew up through the ceiling. Jin started to follow him, but a moan from the girl stopped him. She was regaining conscientiousness, and a large pool of blood littered the floor around her. He gently scooped her into his arms, and her hazy chocoate-brown eyes looked up at him. She raised a hand to stroke his face, but than coughs racked her small, fragile body, and blood poured from her mouth.

Fear seized him, and he hardly realized that he had transformed back into a human. "Ling!" he cried out. She continued to hack up blood, and he decided not to waste time. Taking off at a sprint, he carried the semi-conscious girl out of the building. Some detached part of him noticed both an unconscious Hwoarang and Julia, but he was more worried for the one he held in his arms. Coughing up blood was never a good sign.

Heihachi saw them, and members of the Tekkenshu rushed forward to treat her. Heihachi walked over to him and asked, "what happened? Why are my three other fighters brutally injured while you only have a few bruises and a small cut on your arm?" _Should I tell him the truth? _He looked up at Heihachi and decided not to tell him how he could transform into that... thing.

"I don't know. All four of us were communicating over the ear-pieces when Julia screamed and her signal went dead. She had time to warn us that they were doing a search of the building. Then they found me. One of them shot at me, but they missed. I knocked them all out, but then I fell unconscious as well. From what I think happened, Hwoarang went next, leaving only Ling. She destroyed the DVD and met up with Julia and Hwoarang, but when I met up with them that man appeared. I said that I would take him and for the others to go on ahead. Ling stayed, and after he defeated me they fought and he beat the shit out of her. Then he turned back on me. Then he left, and that's about it."

Heihachi nodded and seemed to buy his story. One of the physicians came up to him and whispered something to Heihachi. Heihachi told him, "Julia, Hwoarang, and Ling all have pretty bad concussions. Ling also has some internal bleeding from trauma to the abdomen. We have to leave, now."

Hwoarang groggily woke up. His head was killing him, and he felt a bandage on his head. "Urgh..." he groaned. He looked to his side and saw Ling on a hospital bed. There was a bandage around her head, and some strange equipment hooked up to her. Turning to his right he saw that Julia was also unconscious, but her condition, thankfully, wasn't as serious. _What the hell happened to us?_ He thought. Then he remembered the mission.

_He had just sent Ling back to Jin. His head was pounding, and he was dizzy. Julia felt heavier with every step, and it took him a long time to get outside. Each time he wanted to stop, he looked down at Julia's unconscious face. It was his motivation. He could keep going for her. He finally managed to tumble into the alley Heihachi had agreed to meet them at. Exhausted he handed Julia to the Tekkenshu. With his motivation taken away from him, the world started to spin, and Hwoarang welcomed the blackness that engulfed his mind._

Hwoarang looked up at the calendar. July 9, 2004. It had been three days since that mission. Finally noticing he was awake, one of the nurses scampered over to him. She was wearing a badge that told him that she worked for the Mishima Hospital. "Mr. Hwoarang, you shouldn't be up. Stay in bed, and I'll bring you some food." Now that she mentioned it, he was starving. After he ate the food she brought him he read a hospital magazine. It was old, and extremely boring, but it was better than nothing. At about 2:30 Jin came in. Hwoarang nodded to him, and Jin did the same in response. Then he began to speak.

"The doctor was worried. All of you were supposed to wake up after two days at the most." He looked sorrowfully over at Ling, and Hwoarang noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, and he had shadows under his eyes. He seemed miserable. "You really care for her, don't you?" Hwoarang asked. Jin nodded and added, "but these things are always doomed." Hwoarang stared at him, and a silence filled the air. In the silence Jin and Hwoarang came to a silent understanding. "So, Kazama, why don't you show her how much you care?" Jin tensed up, but he turned to Hwoarang. "She knows, if that's what you're talking about." The silence filled the air again, but this time it was filled with tension. Hwoarang was trying to figure out why people like Jin and Ling served Heihachi. He would never of expected a kind looking couple like them to serve a madman. Jin was stroking Ling's pale hand, and looking on in sadness at the equipment attached to her unconscious form. Suddenly his mind was brought back to something Jin had said during the mission, when that man had appeared.

"What did you mean by father?" he asked. Jin turned and looked at him, anger in his eyes, but he answered in an angry tone, "my father left my mother five years ago. I hadn't seen him since." Hwoarang could sense the anger and sadness in his throat and replied, "sorry." He wisely decided not to pry any further, and he went back to reading his magazine. The sad mood eventually became too much for Hwoarang, so he jokingly said, "Kazama, you better get used to this room, because when I kick your ass you're going to be seeing this room a lot." Kazama smiled and replied, "you're the one who's going to be seeing this room a lot. That is, unless I kick your ass back to Korea." Both Jin and Hwoarang laughed at this, and amongst all the chaos, an unlikely friendship was born.

Julia awoke suddenly, and her head hurt like Hell. She heard laughter, and she turned to see Jin and Hwoarang sharing a laugh. She smiled and said, "hi guys." Hwoarang turned to her, and he let out a broad, true, smile. "Hi," he replied. Julia looked around and noticed that one member of their team was missing. "Where's Ling?" she asked.

Hwoarang's smile dimmed slightly dimmed, and he moved to the side so she could see. Ling was hooked up to several devices, and she was still unconscious. "Oh," she whispered softly. Even though she had only known the girl for a short time, Julia respected her. She could tell that Ling was a good person. She stood up, and ignoring the wave of nausea that swept over her, she sat in a chair next to Ling. "I guess we should wait for her to get up then."

Ling groggily shook they black spots from her vision. Everything was blurry, but as it cleared up she could see three figures over her head, Jin Hwoarang, and Julia. As her body regained feeling she felt Jin's large warm hand over hers. Then the pain came. Ling moaned, it was everywhere. Her arms and legs felt like lead, her head ached, and her stomach felt like someone had taken a drill to it.

"How are you feeling?" Julia asked softly. Jin was staring at her with concerned eyes, and Ling could see the dark shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep. "Fine," she managed. She managed to sit up, and she brought a hand to her stomach. "How long has it been?" she asked. "Five days," Hwoarang answered. "You were suffering from a concussion and internal bleeding." Julia told her. Ling nodded.

For the rest of the day the four people conversed. Because of the mission that had almost ended in tragedy, they had a deep bond form between them. Ling learned a lot about her friends that day. Julia was a native American, and both she and Hwoarang both spoke several languages, including English and Chinese! Jin admitted that he too spoke English, and Ling told them that she spoke some, but she was far from fluent. Julia agreed to give her lessons, and the rest of the day was filled with laughter, a rare treat for Ling nowadays. She was able to forget about Heihachi and everything for a while, and she felt like a regular teenager.

The next day was even better. The doctor informed her that the internal bleeding had completely stopped, and that all three of them were free to go home. They walked into the manor, chatting amiably, but Heihachi confronted them before they could head upstairs.

"Glad to see you're all OK. Can you fight yet?" Ling shook her head no. "The doctor said that we should wait a few days until we do anything to physical." Heihachi nodded and told them, "good. In that case I want to inform you of your next mission." Ling gaped. _Next mission! We just got back from the hospital! _She seethed with anger, but Heihachi failed to notice this as he continued. "I'm sending you to Egypt. You are to accompany the Tekkenshu to a large pyramid somewhere around there. Your maps and everything else will be given to you tomorrow. We are leaving for Egypt in one week. That should give you time to heal and train. Do not tell anyone about this. Understood." Ling watched as they all nodded. Julia and Hwoarang seemed somewhat pale, and Jin and Ling's confused gazes met.

"Heihachi, what are we doing in Egypt?" Ling asked. Heihachi glared at her and replied, "that's for me to know girl. If you value your family at all, you won't question what I tell you to do." Ling heard Julia gasp and say, "Mr. Mishima, that's blackmail! It's illegal! I could report you to the cops for that!" Heihachi laughed and replied, "go ahead. I own the cops." Julia turned a horrified face to Ling who simply nodded. Heihachi walked away, and the four were left alone. "Ling," she asked, "what's this all about." Ling gulped and looked at Jin who shrugged and said, "they were bound to find out anyway." Ling turned back to Julia and began her story.

"About three weeks ago, I was kidnapped by Mishima Corporations to be used as one of their fighters. I was transported here from China, where I was forced to do anything Heihachi tells me. If I don't, he kills my family. Jin is kind of the same. Heihachi's his grandfather, and five years ago when his father abandoned them Heihachi kidnapped his mother. Now if Jin doesn't do as he's told, his mother dies."

As she finished her story, both Julia and Hwoarang looked appalled. Ling turned her head to the side, ashamed. Jin glared at them, as if daring them to question the story. Julia and Hwoarang exchanged glances, and Julia muttered, "sorry." Ling nodded, and walked up to her room. She heard the others follow her up, and from her room she heard three doors open and three doors close. Startled, she realized one of the doors was her own.

She watched Jin sit next to her on her bed. Like those many other times when Ling needed him he was there, and he embraced her tightly. She returned the embrace and inhaled his wonderful sent. She tucked her head into the crook of his neck and clutched his shirt with her arms. He leaned away from her slightly and gently pushed her off of him. "Ling, everything will be okay." He pulled her in for a sweet kiss, and Ling truly felt hopeful that maybe it would all get better. When they broke the kiss Ling sighed and climbed into Jin's lap. He wrapped his muscular arms around her, and Ling thought, _perhaps things will get better._

Meanwhile, Julia had crept into Hwoarang's room. "You know what he's planning by going to Egypt, don't you?" Hwoarang nodded and then asked, "so, do you think it will be a good opportunity to grab the necklace?" Julia sighed and answered, "it may be our only opportunity. Do you think we should tell Jin or Ling?" She watched as Hwoarang shook his head no. "We don't know if they're telling the truth. They probably are, but we don't know for sure. Even if they are, we can't trust them to not tell Heihachi. He might threaten their families. No, we keep this to ourselves, and when the time comes, we take the necklace and leave. We can't let anyone get in the way." Julia nodded and said, "well then, good night." She silently crept back to her room and contemplated what had happened today. _God, our simple plan is getting more and more complicated with everyday we spend here._

So, you like? What do you think? Please R&R! Thanx!

Reina-183


	9. Kidnapped again!

_Hi! I'm sorry for the long wait, but I have a lot of troublesome things going on right now. For one thing, this weird dude at school started stalking me! Anyway, I'm really sorry! Please forgive me, and as always, R&R!_

_**Kari: **I was thinking of adding Lee too, but I don't really know how to place him in the story. When he comes into play, it will be a lot later. I also don't know much about his character..._

_**KrappKarmin: **I don't really know how I could fit those pairings into the story... If you want, I write one-shots on demand. Just email me and I can give you a one shot with the previously mentioned couples. Also, I don't know much about Eddy or Miharu, so you'll have to enlighten me. _

_**Ignes Fatui: **Thanx soooooo much!_

_**XInfernal: **I know I made Julia seem really weak, and I promise that's about to change. When I first added her to the story I didn't know much about her character, but now I know loads more so her character will start to develop._

_**TheWishOfNight: **Thanx for the complements! The halloween special should be up by...Halloween!_

_**If anybody has any costume ideas for the special, I'd be glad to hear them. I'm going to make Xiaoyu something innocent, Jin something tough, Hwoarang something hot and rebellious, Christie something dancer like/elegant/figure showing, and Julia something more native American (yes I know it's overdone but I still like it !)**_

Bonds of Love 

Ling Xiaoyu laughed and reached up a hand. Julia took it and helped her up. "Good job Julia!" she exclaimed. Over the past few days all four of the fighters had made full recoveries, and today Ling and her friends had gone back to the dojo to train. Since Hwoarang was adamant about fighting against Jin, Julia and Ling were now partners. In their last fight, Julia had managed to knock Ling against the ground. It was the first time all day that Ling had lost to her, and she could see the pride sparkling in Julia's eyes.

Ling dusted herself off, and she asked, "why don't we go check on the boys?" Julia shrugged, "why not? We'll arrive to see them either fighting, or Hwoarang will be glaring daggers into Jin's back. If looks could kill, Hwoarang would have killed your boyfriend long ago." Ling smiled. She had only just told Julia that she and Jin were... more than friends. Honestly she didn't know how to put it. They didn't really date or do the things regular boyfriends and girlfriends did, but at the same time the relationship was way more than plutonic. Utterly confused, she finally reached the place where Jin and Hwoarang were fighting. Jin was using a towel to wipe some of the sweat off his face, and Hwoarang was glaring daggers into his back. Julia was always right. "So, did you lose?" Julia asked Hwoarang, a smile on her lips. "No!" Hwoarang snapped. "We tied."

Ling rolled her eyes and walked over to Jin. "Hi," she said. Jin graced her with a smile before turning toward her. "How did the training go?" she asked. "Not bad," he replied. Ling smiled at him and he in turn asked, "so how'd things go with you?" Ling quickly responded in a needy voice, "Not to bad, but Julia won the last fight so now my bum hurts!" Jin raised his eyebrows at her and Ling giggled. "What?" he asked. "Nothing, you just look funny when you do that." Ling watched as Jin opened his mouth to come back with a witty comeback, but just then Heihachi stepped in. The happiness in the air dissipated, and Ling glared at Heihachi's intruding presence.

Heihachi frowned at them and told them, "I'm afraid I have to leave for business. I won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. That is when we leave for Egypt. Tonight you have a new job. You will pose as couples and go to a party that I'm hosting in the manor. Jin, since I won't be there, you are acting as host and Ling will be the hostess. See that everyone has a good time, and that no one figures anything... unpleasant out. That's all. The supplies are in your rooms. I suggest you start to get ready." With that he left on his trip.

Ling sighed, and her and the others meandered back into the house. Ling headed straight to her shower. She tuned the water to a pleasantly warm temperature and stepped in. The water enveloped her, and Ling sighed in contentment. It was times like these that she could almost forget where she was and why she was here. She added shampoo and gently massaged the scalp of her head. The shampoo soothed her, and she slowly rinsed it off. As she partook in the wonderful feeling, she didn't notice the figure outside her curtain.

Ling stepped out and wrapped a towel around herself. She dried her hair and decided to dress for the party. She headed over to the box that was now a familiar sight on her bed. An elegant silk gown flowed through her fingertips. It was a wonderful baby pink, and it shined. Ling slipped the dress on and it fit her perfectly. The color made her skin gleam and it shaped to her form, showing off her elegant curves. Ling looked further into the box and found a comb with a white hyacinth on it. A variety of hairpins and clips gave Ling an idea and she set to work. Soon her black hair was twisted and braided into a halo around her head. Extra hair that was left over was gathered up and held in place by the comb. It gave her an extra two inches of height, and it extenuated her long graceful neck. The last thing in the box was a pair of elegant pink heels. Ling slipped them onto her feet. She couldn't fight in them, but this was only a party. Secondly she applied a very natural looking lipstick, shimmering pale pink eye shadow, and just a bit of blush. A golden necklace with a small Hyacinth charm completed the outfit.

Ling looked in the mirror as she analyzed everything. She slowly scanned her reflection, starting at the bottom and moving up. As she got to her face, she suddenly saw a mysterious figure over her shoulder. Ling gasped and turned, knocking over her make up, but her stalker was ready. Ling felt a cloth cover her mouth and she inhaled a purely disgusting sent. She struggled, but her struggles gradually weakened. Her lungs burned, and then all was black.

Julia sighed as she pulled out a beige dress. It was modest, but still exquisite. She slid it on and watched as she was transformed from a simple Native American girl to a beautiful woman. The dress wasn't as modest as she first thought, and the v-neck showed a bit of cleavage. The color accented her pale tone and made her rich brown hair glow. The dress was very form fitting, and Julia's flat stomach and skinny waist were amplified. Julia brushed out her hair and gathered it into a large bun. She held it there with a pearled hairpiece. A matching necklace of pearls adorned her neck along with pearl earrings that dangled daintily. She added some extremely dark lipstick to complete the look. When she was done she looked like a sophisticated young woman. She opened her door and hurried downstairs. _Hwoarang's going to die from shock when he sees me._

Hwoarang picked at his clothes with distaste. He hated dressing up, but the old geezer apparently wanted him to look like an overly sophisticated dweeb. He cautiously glared at the outfit before giving up on his attempts to kill it with his glare and putting it on. The pants were barely baggy, he noted with displeasure. He pulled on the white silk shirt and gave up. He refused to tuck it in, and instead he let it hang over his pants. Then he ditched the tie. They were for old people and people like Jin. Finally he pulled the overcoat on, only to realize it was too short to go with his new improved style. He busted out through the door and happened to see a maid passing by. Grabbing the unfortunate lady he said, "make this longer so it goes with my outfit." The bemused maid left and Hwoarang got a longer garment back in less than a half an hour.

Inside he pulled his vibrant red hair back into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. He sprayed the cologne on himself and looked in the mirror. His pulled back hair gave the ladies a nice peek at his handsome face and Hwoarang left the top few buttons undone to give a teasing look at his muscular chest. He smiled broadly and started down the stairs. _Let's see if ever-studious Julia can resist the irresistible Hwoarang!_

Jin calmly buttoned up his shirt. He fastened the tie around his neck and made sure his hair was spiked up. The tuxedo he was wearing made him look totally irresistible, and as he walked from his room, one of the maids dropped her laundry. Jin sighed and helped her to pick it up. The flustered maid walked away. This always happened... _Hopefully Ling will react the same way, _he thought with a grin.

He started down the stairs, but a glance over at Ling's room stopped him. He walked across the hall and knocked gently. No one answered, and Jin knocked again, louder this time. Still no one answered. Jin gently swung the door open. The room was a mess. Make up was scattered all over the floor and her full-sized mirror had been knocked onto the ground. There were clear signs of a struggle and Jin immediately panicked. On her bed lay a letter. With shaky hands Jin picked it up and read it.

Dear Jin,

I have her. If you do care for her at all and don't want to see her injured, come to the dojo at 8:00. Don't bring anyone with you, or tell anyone where you are going. If you do this, the girl might not be injured. If you do not show up, or are accompanied by other people Ling Xiaoyu's life cannot be guaranteed.

The letter gave no hint as to who sent it. Jin dropped the letter and glanced at his watch. 7:15. He sprinted out of her room with glowing red eyes as hot as coal. _If they hurt her I'm going to make their death even more miserable. Ling, pleases be safe!_


	10. Uncle Lee!

_Has anybody randomly guessed who the kidnapper is yet? Read on and you just might find out! I'd like to tell you guys about a great story that just came out. It's called Countdown and it's by Karisan-karisan. It's really good! R&R her story! Anyway, this is for my reviewers._

_**Sunshine: **thanx so much! I just read your review and I'm glowing with happiness! _

_**Ignes Fatui: **Thanx for the costume ideas! I'll keep them in mind! _

_**KrappKarmin: **For the Halloween thing, it's already done. I don't know whether to make the story dramatic though..._

_**xInfernal: **Thanx! I read your fic. It's very good. Please continue! Once again, thanx for the praise._

_**TheWishOfNight: **Thanx so much. You're really boosting my ego! I feel like I'm on a happy cloud! (No, I'm not smoking anything. I'm just a very hyper person ) _

_Anyway, if I missed you, then you probably reviewed after I started this chapter. Look at the end of the chapter, and if you're not there you'll be mentioned in the next chapter, I promise! So now, on to the story!_

Bonds of Love 

Ling desperately shook her arms as she tried to free herself from the chains that bound her and held her several feet above the ground. They were wrapped around her arms, waist, and legs, but try as she might they refused to budge. Tears swelled in her eyes at the thought of what might happen to her. _Uncle Wang help me! Jin please save me! Anyone I just want to get out of here! _A lonesome tear made its way down her right cheek, and it was soon followed by several more.

Suddenly, her moment of crying disappeared when a tall man walked into the room. His looks weren't anything special, except for his beautiful silver hair. "Shut up," he told her. "No!" Ling screamed back. "Little girl, you will do as I say or else!" Ling tried to act brave, but inside she was shaking with fear. "Or else what?" she questioned, challenging him. He glared at her and didn't answer. Then a fist came flying at her and hit her in the head. Ling felt her head slam back against the concrete that she was pressed against, and she had to struggle against the black dots that appeared in front of her eyes. She looked up at him defiantly, and he spoke. "You look far too healthy and capable of escaping. We can't have that, can we?" He pulled back his fist and punched her again. _Please someone help me! _She thought as he continued to beat her.

Hwoarang looked up just in time to step out of the way of an infuriated Jin. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it!" He started. Jin chose to ignore him, and he shouted to him, "You and Julia will host the party! I have unresolved business to take care of!" With that he stormed out the door and Hwoarang cringed at the sound of cracking wood as the doors swayed on barely functional hinges. His confusion and thoughts on the matter were suddenly halted as Julia appeared at the top of the stairs.

Hwoarang felt his jaw drop. She was breathtaking, gorgeous! Everything about that dress made her look perfect. Julia calmly walked up to him and whispered in his ear, "do you like my outfit?" She scandalously left Hwoarang standing there very much enticed. _If she wants to play it that way, then... _Hwoarang raced up behind her and grabbed her. She let out a squeal, but before she could do anything she was sitting on Hwoarang's shoulder. "Let me down!" she screamed at him. "What's in it for me?" he devilishly replied. "I won't kick your ass!" She replied. Hwoarang snorted and kept her on his shoulder. "Guess what Jules?" he asked. "What?" she replied. "We're hosting the party!" he told her. "Oh, why?" she asked. "I don't know. Jin told me to." Hwoarang looked up at Julia. She smiled at him and replied "K then! Now could you put me down?" Hwoarang shrugged and set her down. The doorbell rang and Hwoarang and Julia rushed over to great the guests. The party had begun.

Julia glanced around the room to check for any suspicious behavior. All of the guests seemed regular enough. "Hwoarang, I'm going to look on the Mishima data base for anything concerning the necklace." Hwoarang nodded. While she was leaving he grabbed her hand. "Don't get caught," he whispered. She nodded and headed into Heihachi's office. She disabled the camera before it captured her image and sat down behind Heihachi's desk. Julia diligently worked on the computer, but to her frustration there was nothing about the necklace except for the plans in stealing it. "Damn!" she cursed as she headed out of the room defeated. There had been absolutely nothing on the necklace. _Where does he keep it that he trusts enough not to save the data on his computer?_

Then she noticed something suspicious. Most of the guests were in the ballroom, but the man she was looking at wasn't. She had a feeling this was something big, so she gently pressed a button on a small device cleverly hidden on the right earring. It would send a message to Hwoarang, and hopefully he'd decide to see what was wrong. "Hello sir. May I ask what you're doing here?" The man looked up at her to reveal startling red eyes and a cocky, confidant grin. "I'm here to see my beloved wife," he replied. "Excuse me?" Julia asked. She barely dodged the punch he threw at her, and she fell over backwards because of the heels. Taking them off, she stood ready to fight. He lunged at her, and the fight began.

Jin threw open the doors to the dojo. Standing there was a silver haired man. "Hello Jin. It's nice to see you again. Though not under the given circumstances. Come, give your Uncle a hug." The man spread his arms out, and Jin had to stifle a gasp of surprise.

_It's Uncle Lee! What the... _Jin growled and said, "where the hell is Ling, Lee?" The man gave a hearty laugh, and Jin scowled. "That's no way to speak to your Uncle," he said. "Sit down and have a talk. We can catch up on old times." Jin gritted his teeth and asked, "why did you kidnap Ling?" His uncle suddenly got very serious. "I don't have anything against the girl, but unfortunately, my bastard brother and I don't particularly care for our father... So for once we're not trying to kill each other." Jin put on a menacing face. "What does that have to do with Ling? Heihachi's not even here!" Once again, Lee looked extremely amused. "There are other ways to break a person, other than killing them. We're stealing something very precious too him. Capturing the girl was only a distraction to get you away from the mansion. The fun stuff is happening inside. Why you don't you ask your friends. By now they're probably fighting brother dearest." Jin's face paled. Lee continued. "I wonder if he'll have to take the form of the devil to win. That would be rather interesting."

Jin had heard enough. He lunged at his uncle, but he just stood there calmly. At the last second, something cold and metallic caught Jin's hand in its claws. Combot had stepped in to protect his master. Lee walked away, further into the halls in the dojo. "If you can beat my Combot, then maybe I'll let you have your little friend back. See ya later, if my Combot doesn't rip you to shreds." He turned a corner and disappeared. Jin backed away from Combot. If eyes flared red, and in an instant Devil Jin was standing in front of Combot. He didn't look particularly happy. The sound of ripping metal echoed menacingly through the dojo, a warning to anyone who dared stand in his way.

Hwoarang started as the secret communicator he had hidden in the collar of his shirt flashed red. It was a sign from Julia. _Shit! What if she's in trouble? _He thought before he quickly excused himself from the group of guests that surrounded him. "Excuse me, I need to take care of something." He grinned, and the crowd around him dissipated, joining other groups around the room. He calmly walked out of the room, but as soon as he was out of sight he broke into a sprint, heading towards Heihachi's office.

Julia blocked a kick the man had sent at her. The force of it sent her back, but she managed not to collapse. She ducked down and kicked him under his knee, hoping to trip him. Her foot connected with her target, but the man was not sent sprawling to the ground like she had hoped he would. Instead he sent a punch down at her, and she barely moved back in time. She got to her feet and sidestepped his next move. She used Tequila Sunrise, but it missed. She threw a punch, but the man ducked under her and Julia caught a strong punch in the stomach. She cradled herself as she back off. _Damn! He's so fast and strong! How the hell do I beat him? He fights like the Devil!_ She dodged hid next punch and launched an attack of her own. She missed. The fight stayed like this, with one fighter striking and the other dodging or blocking. It was pretty equal until something horrible happened. Julia tried a high kick, but the man grabbed her leg and threw her to the ground. Julia screamed in pain. She got up and hit him, but he retaliated with a extremely fast flash punch combo. Julia managed to block two of the three hits, but the third one connected, hard. The man followed it up with a knee kick that took Julia by complete surprise. She managed to use her shove it up move, and he was he backwards. Julia panted from exertion. The man got up, and Julia saw that he was still smiling. Suddenly his smile, as well as he himself was knocked to the ground. Hwoarang got off of him and tried to punch him a second time but the man sent flying over to Julia. He got up and Julia regained her fighting pose.

The man laughed and chastised them. "Two on one, that's hardly fair. I'll have to even the odds." Julia watched in horror as he looked up. A purple light enveloped him and several things happened. Black wings grew from his scarred back, average length nails formed vicious claws, tattoos and marks covered his body. "Who the hell is he?" she screamed. Calmly, Hwoarang answered her. "He's Jin's father Kazuya." The transformation was completed and a horrible creature stood before them. Hwoarang turned to Julia, looking scared, and confessed, "incase we die, Julia, I love you." Julia stood in shock as Hwoarang quickly kissed her. The devil turned to them and smiled, "time to die." Hwoarang lunged at him, determined to stop him. Julia followed him into the fight. "I love you to," she whispered. But Hwoarang couldn't hear her. Then again, she hadn't meant for him to hear her. She was going to tell him later. After they defeated this monster. Julia prepared to punch him, and she saw Hwoarang launching a kick. The devil just smirked.

Ling's breathing was ragged. That man had given her quite a beating. She looked up, only to see him coming back. The calm collected look was still on his face. Ling distinctly heard the sound of metal being shredded. What could do that? The vile man undid the chains that bound Ling and she collapsed to the floor. The horrible noise continued, and the silver–haired fiend smirked. "Hear that. It's your boyfriend. He's coming to get you." When Ling heard this she sprung into action. She tripped her captor and started of at a sprint. "Where the Hell are you going?" He screamed at her. Ling didn't answer. She headed towards the screeching metallic noise. Jin was probably out of control, and he needed to be stopped before he did something he would forever regret. Her blood left a trail down the hall, like a gory version of the breadcrumb trail from Hansel and Gretel. She could hear the thundering footsteps of her capture quickly gaining ground. Ling tore off her heels in hope of gaining speed. She swiftly turned the corner and saw what she had dreaded. Large black wings encompassed his frame as the mutated Jin tore apart Combot. The footsteps caught up to her, and Ling felt him grab her from behind. She was too weak to resist him, so as she felt him pull her back to her dreaded prison, she did the only thing she could think of. She screamed. "JIN!!!!"

The desperate sounding wail pierced the still air and echoed off the walls. It reached him and a red gaze met her own. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she reached out to him. He noticed her unfortunate situation and she felt hid anger intensify. He threw the hunk of metal that was once Combot to the side and faced them. "Let her go," he ordered. His voice was filled with coldness and darkness, but it was definitely Jin. Her captor however didn't seem to fear Jin. He pressed a button on hid watch, and then he lifted a large knifeto Ling's throat. "I'm the one gving the orders now, nephew." Ling gasped as the cold steel dug in to her skin. She felt a sting of pain, and she felt fresh blood drip from her neck. She glanced hopelessly at Jin. His expression never changed. He didn't seem to notice or care that her life was in danger. Ling looked shocked. _Is he going to let me die?_

_So, how do you like? I know a lot of you guys wanted Le as a good guy, but even though he's acting evil now, he's more of a neutral character... Like Sesshoumaru or Kikyo from Inuyasha... As always, please R&R! I want to know your ideas. Also, should my Halloween special be more fluffy-romantic, or more dramatic-romantic, or maybe antsy-romatic. I've already chosen the pairings. They are, Xiaojin, HwoaJulia, ChistieEddie, and SteveMiharu. If you have a problem with these pairings then please don't read and flame me about them later. I promised KrappKarmin that I would use them, and I don't break my promises. However, if you would like to suggest another pairing, then I'm totally open for ideas. Sorry to seem kind of mean, but I really don't want any flames or anything! And finally, costume ideas! That would be awesome! R&R please! Thanks ahead of time! Till next chapter!_

_Reina-183 _


	11. Memories and Tragedies

_Hola! I'm back! Anyway, Thanx for the reviews, they make me so very happy! Not much to say except thanking my reviewers. So here it is!_

_**Kari:** Thanx! I like Lee the way he is too! Keep going with your story, I love it! The Halloween story will be out as soon as I decide what I'm going to do with it..._

_**Jill: **Thank you! I'm glad you like my story!_

_**xInfernal: **I guess I won't make Julia a Native American. Thanx for the excellent review, but I don't think I'm going to mess with the pairings or anything, cause I already got the plot in my head and it wouldn't help if I messed with the pairings._

_If a get a character kind of off... I just got Tekken, and I only have Tekken4 and Tekken Tag. I know the complete storyline behind Tekken3, but besides that I'm kind of brain dead on Tekken. My apologies! _

_Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Tekken, but I do own the game!_

Bonds of Love 

Julia cradled Hwoarang in her lap. He had fallen unconscious after that things last attack, and she was only a few seconds away from surrendering to the horrible darkness as well. Already, black dots swirled in exotic patterns before her eyes, and her vision was edged with gray. Pain exploded from every single point on her body, and something had to be sprained or broken, at least. That thing stood above them, grinning. She hugged Hwoarang closer to her and tried to back away, but her back hit a wall. There was no escape. He took a step closer, and she pressed herself against the wall, hoping to sink into it. Kazuya raised a hand threateningly, but as he was about to strike she heard a beep. "Hmm..." his evil voice echoed through the blood stained room, "looks like I'll have to wait until next time to finish off you kiddies. I got other things to do."

With that said, he walked further into the house. She heard a tear, and looked over to see an odd sort of map in his hands. _That map!_ His powerful wings lifted him into the sky, and he burst through the wall. The hole in the ceiling revealed the night sky outside. The creature flew off into the darkness outside, and the stars sparkled menacingly, as if infected by his evil. Julia screamed as the pieces of wood and stone fell from the hole in the ceiling, heading for them. She pulled herself and Hwoarang to the side just in time to avoid the last piece. She was laid out on her side, and at her sudden movement, fresh pain shot through her body. As pain drifted though her, Julia succumbed to the blackness clouding her vision. Suddenly visions came to mind as she thought of herself and Hwoarang.

_A young fourteen-year-old Julia was crying. Her brown hair was pulled up into two braids and her Cowboy boots sat beside her on the couch. Today was a horrible anniversary. Five years ago her mother had died and left her in this cruel world. Her mother's best friend, a rich woman who liked to be called CC, had adopted her. She had a good life, with the best schooling available and anything she wanted at her fingertips, but it didn't make up for the loss of her mother. The door burst open, and a sixteen-year-old Hwoarang stepped into the room. "Yo, Jules, what's up with the tears?" He looked down at her and Julia replied, "nothing shut up and leave me alone." Hwoarang looked shocked, but the obnoxious teen didn't leave. Instead he eyed the Cowboy boots and asked, "is this about your mom?" _

_Julia nodded, and suddenly she was encompassed in a bear hug. "I know what you mean. My mom died when I was four, After that there was only my mentor, Beak Doo San, and he died when I was nine." He rocked her back and forth, and for once Julia didn't shove out of his embrace. "CC's a great mother. I wish I had one like her." Julia looked up at him and said, "Hwoarang, don't be like that. You know my CC loves you like the son she never had." Hwoarang nodded and there gazes met. Julia was suddenly struck by how handsome he was, and she wondered why she didn't notice before. Their faces moved closer and closer, and Julia could feel Hwoarang's breath on her face. Then her lips met his and it was pure bliss. Julia wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen it, and they only pulled away for air._

_That had been four years ago. Neither of them spoke of it again, and they acted like it was only a moment of weakness. But that day was very important to Julia. That was the day she realized things weren't so bad. On that day, Julia Chang fell in love with Hwoarang. And when they regained consciousness, Julia was going to make sure he knew that she loved him too. _

Ling pressed her self back against Lee in hopes of escaping the knife against her neck. Usually, she would have done something by now, but an immense amount of pain and fear stopped her from doing anything. And of course, the knife against her neck didn't help matters. She watched as Jin took a step towards them. The uncaring look was still glued to his face, and it scared Ling almost as much as the knife against her neck. She felt Lee take a step back, taking her with him. Her thoughts were clouded by fear as she continued to watch Jin's calm face. Suddenly the knife was flung away from her neck. It hit the wall and stuck there, quivering more than she was. Lee seemed shocked, and for the first time since she had met him she felt him loose his cool. The hands that held her were shaking, and Ling saw her opportunity. With the knife away from her neck Ling sprung into action. She used mistrust to knock her captor back, and she ran to Jin, collapsing at his feet. Her breathing was heavy and she couldn't even muster the strength to sit up. Her eyes slowly began to close as unconsciousness was about to take her, but her eyes snapped open when she heard an alarming sound.

Jin left her laid there as he went to check out the noise. She saw Lee make a quick exit down one of the halls. The calm grin was back on his face. She wearily lifted her head to see another figure exactly like Jin at the doorway. A broad smirk was splayed across his face. He glared at her, and suddenly there was no floor beneath her. She felt herself flying towards the cold hard wall, and she knew that if she hit it at the speed she was going she would most likely die. Her body was too tired to try and avoid it. With the last of her strength she reached out to Jin as her life flashed before her eyes.

_She was a little kid again, maybe five years old. She was happy. Her Uncle Wang was visiting, and he had said he would give her a present this time. She watched as the front door opened, and as soon as she recognized her uncle, she ran towards him as fast as her little legs could carry her. "Uncle Wang!" she screamed and jumped into his arms. He caught her and spun her in circles while she laughed with pure childhood innocence. "Guess what, little Phoenix." "What? What?" she had asked. "I have your present." She gasped, "what is it Uncle?" He laughed and replied, "I'm going to teach you how to fight." Ling cheered for joy as her Uncle took her outside to the grassy field and started something that would last for many years._

_This time, she was a bit older, eight years old. Uncle Wang had just taught her a new move, and she was practicing it out in the field. Today was her birthday, but her parents hadn't seemed to remember. A tear dripped down her face at that thought, but she shunned all of her sadness away, focusing more on fighting. "Ling, come inside, we have a surprise for you!" Ling heard her parents scream. She ran inside, extremely quick for a child her age. At school she could run faster than even the sixth graders! Once she burst through the door, she turned. "Surprise!" she heard a chorus of voices scream. There were all her friends and her parents. She ran up and hugged them both. "We love you, our precious daughter," they had said. Ling had nestled further into them, and she muttered her reply, "I love you to, mommy and daddy!" _

_Ling watched the men dressed in black. They thought that they could rob the house while her parents were out. The determined twelve-year-old faced them in an offensive stance. One of the closer of the three robbers pulled out a knife and lunged at her. Ling caught his arm, and she used ruby to render him unconscious. The other two came at her at the same time, and she leaned down. She caught the first by tripping him, and used a palm thrust to send him flying back into the wall. She swiftly moved into her phoenix pose, and used her wave crest move to put the final robber to sleep. Ling gathered some rope from the closet and tied the deceitful men up. Then she moved to the phone. "Hello, police, three men tried to rob my house. They're armed with knives..."_

_Ling happily skipped around her Uncle's dojo. She had finally beaten him! Her Uncle lay in the center of the dojo. He rubbed his head. "For such a small, petite looking sixteen year old girl, you sure throw a punch! Let's start over." Ling happily got into her fighting stance._

_Suddenly, she was back at the Mishima dojo, in her room. But she wasn't alone. She was huddled in her kidnapper, Jin's arms. She was crying about having to go on that horrible first mission, and Jin was holding her promising things would get better. They both knew that wasn't going to happen, but he still held her, and despite everything, he comforted her. Slowly, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. Then she rested against his chest and fell asleep._

Her memories vanished as she neared the wall. She was going to die. That horrible thought was one of the last things she remembered. She looked hopelessly over to Jin, but he didn't seem to care about what was going on. Then something in his eyes changed. They seemed less cold, more compassionate. She watched the fear, panic, and an enormous sense of loss swirl in the abyss of the windows to his soul. He reached towards her, but it was far to late. She gave him a sad smile before a sharp pain hit her from behind. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before. Every point on her body felt like it was being stabbed with a thousand knives. Then it all passed. Everything went away. She heard herself scream in agony, and she felt the pain throughout her entire body, but she felt detached from it all. Her eyes slowly closed as she felt her body struggle for air. Each gasp was a pain, and nothing seemed to be working. Her broken body slid to the ground with a trail of blood staining the cracked wall. Her vision was blurry, but she could make out Jin running towards her. Her name was on his lips, but she could hear nothing. Slowly her body drifted into darkness as she struggled to hold on to life. _Is this what it's like to die?_

_So, how do you like it? Is Ling dead, or not? All the answers will come to you next chapter. All you must do is review. TaTa! Till next time!_

_Reina-183_


	12. Life, death, and a proposal?

_Hi! I'm back! I love the reviews I've been getting! I'm soooooo happy!!!! Anyway, thank you **Sunshine, **thanx! I love your compliments! **Snowbunni3z,** don't worry. This isn't the last chapter.** and xInfernal, **I know! It was soo cute. Glad you liked it! _

_I'm off in happy world. I wonder if you know... Ling, dead or alive?!?_

_Disclaimer: Yes, I do own Tekken. And look! Blue pigs are flying through a purple and green sky! (For all of you that don't get it, I don't own Tekken...)_

Jin watched in mild interest as that girl went flying into the wall. If she hit the wall she would surely die. Didn't really matter to him though. Or did it? Something screamed from his body that this girl did matter. And suddenly, for some reason, he felt horrified that she would die. When he was around her, he knew he would go to the ends of the Earth to protect her. This weird feeling swelled in his chest as he watched her. Was it love?

She reached an arm out to him, and he just watched her coldly. A hint of something, maybe betrayal or sadness crossed over her face, and Jin couldn't take it anymore. He reached out an arm to her and took a step forward. Fear, horror, despair, and something he couldn't quite place burst from inside of him. She gave him a depressingly sad smile. It didn't suit her face, so Jin did the only thing he could. He slowed her body. She was going to fast for him to completely stop her, but he could slow the crushing speed that she was going at. It would stop her from dying, hopefully. He watched as her fragile body collided with the wall. She let out an agonizing scream, and it penetrated even his cold heart. His father just laughed, a maniacal sound. Jin collapsed to the floor as visions clouded his mind.

_His mother was standing there, smiling at him. It was a sad smile, like the one the girl was wearing, but it also held hope. _Suddenly Jin came back to reality. The wings on his back retracted, and all the other signs of his devil self vanished. Then the true pain came back. "Ling!" he screamed as he ran towards her limp body. She was struggling for breath. Blood was seeping from the back of her head, and her body looked completely broken. He turned. His Uncle and father had left. He cradled her unconscious body in his arms, and he felt for her pulse. It was weak and slow, but it was still there. "Hold on Ling. You can pull through this. You're strong enough to live." As if she somehow heard his words, her broken body began to breathe easier, and her pulse strengthened and quickened. He allowed a smile to grace his features as he gently lifted his angel from the floor.

Like a prayer, her eyes opened. "I-I'm Alive?" she questioned. Her voice was filled with wonder, and she looked at her hands as if making sure they were still there. He smiled down at her and said, "yeah, you're still alive." She reached a trembling hand up to his face and stroked away some of the tears that littered his smooth skin. _I was crying?_ She dropped her arm and told him, "when I was about to die, I thought about you. I missed you so much." Jin took a few seconds to reply. "I would have missed you too." The conversation dwindled off into awkward silence as they neared the mansion. People were streaming out.

Jin quickly hid in the woods and waited until every single guest had left the party. He silently carried the semi-conscious girl inside and up to her room. He gently set her down on her bed, and gave her a gentle kiss before leaving to search for Julia and Hwoarang.

When Hwoarang lifted his head, he moaned. He was in the stupid hospital again. An amused voice sounded beside him. "Don't worry, you've only been unconscious for a couple of hours, no big thing." He looked over to her and saw that she had said this all with a huge smile on her face. And she looked like shit. Bandages were wrapped around her head, arms, and legs. "Shit girl! What happened to you?" Ling shrugged and replied, "did you know that Kazuya's telekinetic and can throw people into walls without touching them?" Hwoarang shook his head. Ling smiled and continued, "let's just say that I learned that information the hard way..." "Ouch!" Hwoarang sympathized.

He turned to the right and saw Julia. Fortunately, she didn't look as bad as Ling, but she was wearing a knee brace. Slowly he remembered what he had said to her last night and gulped. What if she didn't love him? Nerves took over as he remembered a small box that he kept in his room. He looked over at Julia and sighed. _I wish..._

His thoughts were momentarily interrupted as Julia awoke with a groan. She turned to Hwoarang, blushed, and looked away. Hwoarang smiled. Maybe there was hope! Suddenly the nurse burst in. You guys aren't seriously injured or ill. You can leave! Julia, just don't stress that knee out." All three of them nodded and walked out of the hospital room. Hwoarang sighed. "Is it just me, or is this becoming routine?" All three of them sighed. They exited the hospital and found Jin was standing beside a silver 2004Cayenne Porsche.

Julia sighed. Last night they had been driven home from the hospital. All day today she had eyed Hwoarang from a distance. Now was her chance. Jin and Ling had left the dojo to go pack for the trip, and she and Hwoarang were the only two people there. Nervously, Julia walked up to the young Korean. "Hwoarang, about last night, did you mean it?" Hwoarang stopped training and blushed as red as a cherry. "Yes," he muttered, looking anywhere but Julia's eyes. Julia felt an enormous amount of joy, and he enveloped Hwoarang in a giant hug. "Hwoarang, I love you too!" Hwoarang returned her embrace but then backed away. Julia watched in excitement a he knelt down on one knee and said, "Julia, I loved you for years, and I know that nothing can change that." He pulled out a velvet box and continued. Julia's heart was beating three hundred times a minute. "You're the only person I could ever even consider spending my life with. Julia, will you marry me?" Tears of happiness streamed from Julia's eyes as she looked into the velvet box. I large, sparkling diamond surrounded by smaller sapphires and Rubies twinkled merrily at her. She could tell that Hwoarang was nervous, but then again, she was too. This was the most important decision in her life. Finally she came to a decision, and blurted it out.

Hwoarang waited anxiously as Julia looked down at him. Tears were running from her eyes. But tears of what, happiness or sadness? His anxiousness was clear on his face as he looked up at her. He could see her struggling to decide, and he hoped that she would say yes. Suddenly her sweet voice filled the air. "Yes Hwoarang, I'll marry you." That was all he needed. He gently slipped the engagement ring on her finger before sweeping her up into a passionate kiss. He felt her smile into his lips, and he knew that they would have a great life.

_So, what do you think? Did you like the proposal? I want to know! I'm waiting for you to review! Thanx! Please R&R! _


	13. Betrayal of friends

Thanx for the reviews. They really made me happy! Umm... Anyway, the story is far from over. There's going to be a lot more Julia/Hwoarang even though they're engaged. Same with the Jin/Ling fluff. Also there's going to be a lot more drama as they go to Egypt and ancient stuff happens. This story won't end until Heihachi is either dead or... dead. I don't know how I'm going to kill him yet, but every event and every item in the story so far has had an important meaning and will come back to haunt our poor heroes! And now to thank the reviewers!

_**XInfernal: **nope, it's not just a plain happy ending! I still have to torture our brave heroes a bit more before they get to be happy! R&R and you'll see what I'm talking about!_

_**Ignes Fatui: **This story isn't over yet... I just needed to have Hwoarang propose to Julia... You'll see what I mean later..._

_**Krappkarmin: **I'm on my wimpy 4 day fall recess, and while I was doing my homework I got bored, so wala! Three chapters! I know what you're saying about the proposal since I wouldn't want to get married that early, but they're not actually married yet... I still have a lot of plans for them before the actual marriage. They probably won't actually be bonded in holy matrimony for a very long time! I love your plot, and I might use it since I've been having trouble writing the Halloween fic. Thanx!_

_Disclaimer: I still don't own Tekken. Time to try blackmailing Namco..._

Bonds of Love 

Ling sighed as she got out of bed. The sun was shining brightly, but a strange atmosphere encompassed the room. They had left for Egypt yesterday, and when Heihachi had seen the damage done to his Mansion he had been pissed. Usually Ling didn't like vulgar words, but that was the only way to describe him. He had cursed his sons, and that was before he had discovered what they had stolen. It was a map. When Ling first heard this she wondered why he would be so livid. Then it was explained to her, by non other than Hwoarang and Julia.

"That map is very important," Julia had explained. "You know the necklace that you stole?" Ling nodded, not seeing the necklace's relevance, but Julia continued. "That necklace is one half of a key. Together with its sister piece, it unlocks an amazing treasure, supposedly hidden in Egypt; however, only one person knows... or more accurately knew of the location. That person was Heihachi. That map led to the location of this ancient treasure. Now, whoever has the map also knows where the treasure is hidden." Suddenly, Jin interrupted her. "Who has the other key?" he asked. "Heihachi," Hwoarang answered simply. Julia nodded and said, "we suspected that Heihachi was sending us on this mission so he could get his hand on these riches." Ling analyzed Julia. She seemed to be hiding something. Ling couldn't tell what, but something was wrong. However, she decided not to ask.

Ling stretched and looked at her clock. 7 A.M. She had an hour and a half until she was expected downstairs. Silently, she grabbed her toothbrush, some toothpaste, and other toiletries and crept towards the bathroom. She and Julia were sharing a room, and it was connected to Jin and Hwoarang's room through the bathroom. She really didn't want to wake anybody. Once she was inside the restroom she took a nice hot shower. As she stepped into the water she regretted it. Her cuts, which were barely healed, stung under the heated water. Her head pounded with every drop of water that hit it, and some of the larger cuts reopened, spilling blood on the shower's base. The large bruise that stretched across the part of her back that had violently collided with the wall was filled with excruciating pain. Ling decided it was too late to back out of the shower, but she turned the water down, so it wouldn't pound against her sore back and head. After she was clean, Ling stepped out of the shower. She bandaged the larger cuts and flinched at her bruises. She dried her short hair, brushed her teeth, and got dressed. She had decided on a bright red, form fitting T-shirt with a large panda on it. Her black jeans were embroidered with cute patterns on the sides. Finally finished, she took some aspirin and walked downstairs. She was alone, and she decided that was probably the best thing. They hadn't arrived until two A.M. in the morning, and Ling had dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was frizzy and looked like it had been hit with a tornado, despite her best attempts to tame it. A bandaged was wrapped around her head, along with several on her arms. Ling imagined that she looked like a beggar or street bum that had just come out worst from a fight.

Soon, all four of them were chatting merrily over a breakfast of croissants and Danishes, along with coffee. At exactly 8:30, Heihachi arrived downstairs. Without so much as a good morning he launched into an explanation of their mission. "I need that map," he began. "I have information on where those two ungrateful bastard sons of mine are hiding. Jin and Hwoarang will be in charge of stealing the map. Julia and Ling, you'll have the honor of guarding the keys, incase my sons try to steal them. Failure is not an option. If any part of this mission fails, the circumstances will be rather harsh." He glared at all of them, as if reminding them of their previous failure. In response they only nodded. Ling watched as Julia sent a nervous glance at Hwoarang, but he only nodded. Heihachi finally said, "as usual, all your supplies will be in your rooms." With that done he left. Ling sighed and went back to her breakfast. However, Julia and Hwoarang left the room. Ling felt a little suspicious, but she ignored it, or tried. Something in her knew that the mission was going to be a failure, and that it had something to do with Julia and Hwoarang.

Julia glanced around, checking for any eavesdroppers, and seeing no one she entered the small hotel garden. "What should we do?" she asked. Today was the day they were planning on stealing the necklace, but now that Ling was going to be on guard with her she had no ideas about what should be done. "You'll just have to put Ling to sleep," he replied. "Make sure that she knows nothing and doesn't get in your way." Julia nodded and stood up to leave, but Hwoarang grabbed her arm. "Where is the engagement ring?" he asked. Julia lifted a delicate chain that hung around her neck. "I didn't want anyone to see it, you know, until we're ready." Hwoarang nodded and asked, "when will we be ready?" Julia shrugged. "I don't know. I want to get my degree before I'm actually married..." Hwoarang gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I can wait." Julia smiled back and left to go to her room.

As she entered her room, Julia was greeted by a very smiley Ling. "Looks like we'll be working together today," she said. Julia nodded, feeling slightly guilty. "I'm going to take a nap, K." Ling told her. Julia nodded. This could be just the right opportunity. She spoke to Ling, "I guess I will too." Julia turned out the lights and watched Ling snuggle under the covers. After about ten minutes Julia whispered, "Ling?" Ling didn't respond. "Ling?" she called again, this time a little louder. No response. Julia quietly slid out of bed and opened her bag. Inside was a pair of handcuffs. Julia had gotten them off one of the Tekkenshu, along with the keys. She crept over to Ling, and gently cuffed one hand. Ling made a slight noise and Julia jumped, but luckily for her, Ling was still asleep. She looped the cuff to one of the wooden bedposts. Since the bed had a canopy, she wouldn't be able to get free. She slipped the other cuff around Ling's other wrist and tightened it until she as sure Ling wouldn't be able to slip free. Guiltily she took one of her bed sheets and tied it around Ling's ankles, binding her legs together. Next she took a pillowcase and tied it around the younger girl's mouth to act as a gag. With the application of the gag, Ling's eyes shot open, but she just muttered something in Chinese and fell back asleep. Julia grabbed both her own key and Ling's key. She locked Ling inside the room and left. She knew this had to be done, but Ling was her friend and she wished there were another way. Her mind was heavy with guilt.

Jin stretched. The day had passed by too quickly. It was already six p.m., and he and Hwoarang were just leaving the hotel to go rob the map. Jin hadn't seen Ling all day since breakfast and it worried him. Usually, the ever-hyper Chinese girl enjoyed coming down for lunch and talking with all of them. Today, Julia had grabbed her food, explaining that Ling was napping, and that she'd give Ling her food when she got up. Jin shrugged and thought, she was up pretty late last night. She could just be really tired. Try as he might to relieve his worry, it was unsuccessful. Jin finally climbed into the limousine and he and Hwoarang headed towards the place where his Uncle was said to be hiding. Something in the back of his mind urged him to believe that something was wrong, but what could it be? Jin tried to pass the odd feeling off as nerves from the mission, but for some odd reason, his worry wouldn't seep away.

Julia made her way down to the room she was guarding. Twenty members of the Tekkenshu were already guarding the room, and Julia took her place by the safe. Looking around, she noticed that there were no security cameras or anything besides people in the room. It was painted a dull off-white, and it had quite a frightening aura around it. Behind her was a locked safe with a key hole to open it, and that would be a problem if it weren't for the matching keys that dangled from the nearest guard's key ring. Julia smiled to herself, this is almost too easy. She slowly walked back towards the door and locked it from the inside. Some of the Tekkenshu seemed alarmed and glanced at her in fright, but Julia slyly answered their questioning looks. "The locked door is just another barrier between them and us." The men nodded slowly, and Julia relaxed. She walked back to her spot by the safe and let out a sigh of relief. I probably could take them all on, but they're all armed... How should I do this? If I don't plan carefully, everything will be ruined. Julia sat down and leaned against the safe behind her. She desperately tried to come up with a sufficient idea. A small smile slid onto her face as she realized that after tonight she would have her necklace, and she would be able to go back home. Ready to execute her strategy, the young martial artist got to her feet. Suddenly, a large bang resounded through the room. Julia jumped and turned, shocked, and she met the gaze of an eerie man with silver hair. "Hello," he greeted. Julia's eyes narrowed in anger and determination. Who is this one man to think that he can barge in here and ruin my plans?!? Unfortunately, her question was answered when a small army of Combots took their place behind him. The Tekkenshu desperately searched for an escape route, but they were locked in. Grimly, Julia took her stance and prepared to fight.

Sorry it took a long time and it's kinda short, but with the Halloween special and tests and 2 essays, a project, and a short story, I've been pretty busy... Also, the teachers just dropped a giant bombshell on my head. One of the courses that we weren't supposed to have to take we have to take. UHHHHH! Anyway, I'm really busy, but I'm almost done with the Halloween fic...kinda. It will be up by Halloween! Please R&R! This is to the reviewers who weren't mentioned at the top.

**TheWishOfNight: **thanx for the review! I was wondering why you had been oddly silent, and I thought that maybe you didn't like my story anymore. Anyway, thanx for the support. I hope you had a nice time in London!

**Lionheart614:** Thanx for the review. I appreciate your criticism, but that was kind of harsh. I really don't like be shouted at. I don't know if you meant it or not, but that's how it was to me... Also, this is an AU, and that means it doesn't go by the regular Tekken timeline or the story line. So in this Tekken universe Beak Doo San died when Hwoarang was nine. I'm trying on the conversation thing since it's my weak point, and I'm sorry if it's confusing.

**Whoever the Fuck 'its me' is: **you stupid, stuck up jerk! I reviewed three times in one day last time! It takes time and effort to write this, and sometimes I can't manage to update every single fucking day! If you feel like you have the right to casually read the story I stayed up late almost every night to slave over and call me a lazy slug, you're wrong. This isn't a job for me, this is something I do in my free time. Therefore, I can't stop everything and just write. If you want me to update faster, then a nice little note at the end of a heartfelt, nice, review would have sufficed. When you write shit like that, I don't even want to write again. SO DON'T DO IT! I work really hard to try and update as fast as possible, and I don't need a lazy dumb ass to try and tell me to write faster!


	14. Fighting and Loosing

_Hi! I'm back! Sorry for the long wait! I was horribly busy, but now it's not so bad! I'm starting Romeo and Juliet in school, and it's my favorite play of all time! I might base a fanfic off of it, but I'm not sure yet... Anyway, if I do it won't be a tragedy... I hope you like this new chapter!_

_Disclaimer: Why must they make me say this? I don't own Tekken... But someday I'll buy Namco and take over first Tekken, then the World! Mwahahahaha!_

Bonds of Love 

Ling struggled with the handcuffs the bound her slim wrists to the bedpost. Her wrists were chaffed from the cold metal rubbing against her skin, and her trapped legs didn't help matters. She had come up with a plan, but it was very hard to actually do. Her plan was to rub the metal of her handcuffs against the wood of the post in hopes that it would break, but while she pulled the metal against the wood, it also bit into her soft skin. She felt the angry red, bleeding marks that would most likely scar her hands. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt warm blood running down her arm. She let her arms relax against the post as she started to give up hope. Damn Julia! Ling knew she was the person who did this, but the question was, why?

Suddenly, a loud bang sounded from downstairs. Julia could be in trouble! As much as she currently disliked Julia for trapping her, Ling knew that Julia wouldn't do it without a reason, and she couldn't let Julia get hurt before she explained what that reason was. This noise pushed her to work harder, and with a final pull the wood snapped and she had limited movement. She violently kicked against the sheets wrapped around her ankles, and the fabric tore with a noisy rip. She climbed out of bed, and with a martial artist's grace, she stepped backwards through the loop her bound hands had created behind her back.

With her hands now in front of her, Ling smashed her hands into the door that led into the fire escape. The door broke from its frame, and Ling ran down the stairs into the kitchen. It was a mess. Apparently, she wasn't the only one to have heard the loud explosion, and people were running around in what could only be described as chaos. One of the chefs glanced at her perplexed, clearly disturbed at the bloody handcuffs binding her hands, and she quickly screamed at him, "cut them off!"

The confused man did as he was told and with one swift swing of his butcher's knife, Ling's hands were free. She quickly struggled through the crowd, heading in the opposite direction towards the loud crash. Finally, she had beaten through the rush of people, and what she saw horrified her. Hundreds of combots marched through the hotel, their silver armor creating a bright glare from the artificial lighting. At their front stood Ling's kidnapper, Lee. Ling growled with barely controlled fury, and without further thought she lunged towards the silver haired man, determined to get her vengeance.

Julia valiantly fought against the army of Combots trying to take her down. To her dismay they were all talented at different forms of martial arts. Even though she was a strong fighter, the powerful forces were beating her down, and she was extremely tired. After she had flipped away from one, she landed by the body of an unconscious Tekkenshu officer. His gun was undamaged and securely in it's holster, along with several extra bullets. She grabbed it from the body, and shot at one of the Combots drawing close to her. With a deafening roar it exploded, destroying several Combots, and knocking Julia back into the wall. She rubbed her neck and stared in fright at the numerous Combots that were heading towards her. Armed with her gun, she aimed and fired. The flames of the destroyed Combots engulfed the battlefield as she fought for her life.

Julia fired, refilled her gun, and fired again in a constant pattern disturbed only by the occasional dodge. She was doing pretty well, despite the fact that she was outnumbered hundreds to one. The room they had begun in had quickly been destroyed, and now Julia didn't really care where she was. She just wanted to survive. Perhaps it was this that caused her usually sharp mind not to register that they were now in-between the main lobby and kitchen. An area where most of the people were. Suddenly, Julia noticed a small, five-year-old boy with flaming red hair. He was precariously positioned in the path of an oncoming Combot, and Julia gasped in shock. If she fired at the Combot the explosion would surely kill the kid. Her body was weak, but she wouldn't let the kid die. Racing as fast as her long legs would carry her, Julia hit the combot before it could reach the kid. The combot collapsed, only to be replaced by five more. Julia fought hard to protect both herself and the kid, but for every one she destroyed, five more took its' place. Finally, a well placed kick to the back of the head sent her crashing to the ground. Wearily, she glanced at the kid above her.

"Run...Away," she pleaded. Then everything became blurry as she felt herself succumb to unconsciousness.

Hwoarang shakily followed Jin into the old building. The complex they were sent to was actually a large house that seemed to have survived the Stone Age. Its' ratty doors were almost torn off the ancient hinges, and the boarded up windows sneered at him, their evil glow barely concealed. The entire place seemed as if it could easily be blown down by a single gust of wind, and the rotting floorboards squealed beneath their intruding feet as if they were trampling a live animal. The two boys proceeded cautiously as they further explored the run down house.

The eerie house wasn't the only cause of Hwoarang's shakiness. It was stimulated by what he was planning on doing to his oblivious partner. He felt the gun under his rattling palms, and he dreaded what was to come next. Jin had become, as much as Hwoarang tried to deny it, a friend. And if there was one thing Hwoarang did know about friends, it was that they didn't go around shooting each other. He gulped, and Jin turned back to him. A worried glance was etched into his features. This made the guilty bile in Hwoarang's stomach worse.

"Anything wrong Hwoa?" Suddenly his concerned face turned into a confident yet playful smirk. "You aren't scared, are you Hwoa?" Hwoarang stiffened at this comment. Of course he was scared, only, it wasn't for himself. _Damn! Why does he have to look so unsuspecting! I wanted to beat him in a fair fight... not like this. _Finally, he managed to firmly grip the handgun hidden in his pocket. He pulled it out and aimed it at Jin. Hwoarang had partaken years of training to learn how to fire a gun, and he was quite a shot. Jin looked confused, and then terrified as he watched Hwoarang.

"Look, nothing personal Jin," Hwoarang started, "if it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry." With that said, Hwoarang pulled the trigger.

_So, do you like it? I promise I'll update soon! R&R please! I really want to know if you like my story or not! Criticism appreciated, but please, no flames or mean comments. I'm a person too, and I don't like being yelled at! If you have a serious problem with my story, or if you hate it, here is a hint... DON'T READ IT! Anyway, too my nicer, faithful reviewers, you'll be mentioned in the next chapter. I have read your reviews, but I don't have time to respond to each one of you personally in this chapter because I'm supposed to be packing... No hard feelings right? Once again, please R&R! Till next chapter,_

_Reina-183 _


	15. Julia and the Necklace

_Hi, sorry or the wait! School is hectic, though I'm sure you all understand that._ _My parents are being evil, and they want me to 'focus on my schoolwork'. Now that the elections are over (and my friends have stopped arguing, therefor not making me counsel them on the phone) I should be able to update a little faster, but my chapters will probably be shorter because of the evils of schoolwork! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and please R&R! I want to know what you think! This is to my reviewers:_

_**Ignes Fatui**: Glad to hear that you're so excited over my story. I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_**Karisan-karisan:**_ _thanx for the review! I'm hurrying to update, but I am slowing down and I need to fix that!_

_**Xinfernal:** I know, Ling is so sweet. I think Julia and Xiaoyu are both very sweet, and I think Julia would try to help Ling out too! Julia's feeling guilty about locking her friend up, and the guilt is really staring to eat away at her..._

_**Snowbunni3z: **Thanx for the review. It means a lot to me, and U know that sounds corny, but I love when I get good reviews... I'm way too over-emotional..._

_Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Tekken! Anything I use in my story besides my own ideas belong to someone else._

Bonds of Love 

Ling tackled Lee to the ground and hit him hard across the face several times. The metal of the cuffs that were still attached to her wrists added to her strength, and they brutally bruised her opponent. She grabbed the familiar necklace that she and Jin had stolen from Hwoarang from around his neck. He then somehow managed to flip her off of him, and she landed on the hard floor. The blood from her chaffed wrists was running down her hands, and Ling felt lucky that she hadn't burst a large artery. Lee glared back at her and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Wearily, she got into an offensive pose. However, before she could attack him again, he disappeared into the crowd of Combots that littered the area. Ling grabbed a Combot arm that lay on the ground, and she used it as a club, bashing in the 'head' of any Combot that dare attack her. She viciously swung it through the air, and the sickening sound of ripping metal became a regular sound to her. Finally, one of the Combots managed to separate her from her weapon, and Ling started to fight.

A roundhouse kick here, a Bayonet there, nothing made any difference. All of the Combots fought in different styles, some reminiscent of her own. To make matters worse, for every Combot she struck down five more were ready to fight. It was like having one person fight against an army of ferociously fearless foes. The Combots were free of human error, and they never made a mistake. Things such as endurance did not affect them, and the tireless army was too huge for Ling to take on alone. She jumped backwards from one opponent only to be caught in the grasp of another Combot. She used mistrust, and before the Combot hit the ground a palm thrust was sent its' way; however, nothing seemed to faze the pure numbers. Ling felt as if she hadn't even made a dent in the metallic army.

Suddenly, the swinging arm of a Combot forced her to duck, and Ling tripped over something on the ground. Thinking that it may be another spare part of a Combot that she could use as a weapon, Ling looked down and gasped. What met her eyes was not the metallic gleam of a robot, but the pale flesh of an arm. A very bloody arm. Ling followed the arm up to the main part of the body and let out another surprised gasp. There, lying beside her was an unconscious Julia.

Blood streamed down the older girl's face, and Ling watched in horror as the fresh wave of Combots neared them. She was so weak, and so tired, there was no way she could protect both herself and Julia. Stumbling to her feet, she tried to lift Julia, and she managed to half drag, half carry her to a storage closet. Ling dumped her inside, and something told her to leave the necklace with Julia. She grabbed it from her front pocket and placed it in the unconscious girl's hand. She stepped out of the closet and closed the door behind her. Hundreds of the Combots turned her way, and Ling gulped. The hotel was a mess. Small fires had somehow ignited in the corners of the building, and besides her, there wasn't an _alive _person in sight. She glanced nervously at the closet door, and then she stepped away from it. The Combots followed her movement with their glowing eyes, and Ling led them away from Julia's closet. She then lunged at the vicious army, thinking, _Hwoarang, Jin, hurry back! We really need you!_

_It was a bright sunny day. A young girl, about 9 years old was running in happy circles around a pretty Native American woman. The attractive woman swept down and caught the girl, lifting her into an embrace. Tears stained her eyes as the woman lifted something off her neck. She handed it to the little girl and told her, "keep this close, keep this safe. When the time comes, you'll know what you have to do." The little girl stared wide-eyed at the necklace her mother had given her. It was an ancient family heirloom, and her mom had always kept it with her. _

"_Why mom?" she asked, looking up at her mother. She was met with a vision of tortured beauty. Her mother's lovely face was stained with tears, and they gleamed from the bright sun. A sad smile graced her delicate features as she stared down at her young daughter. She was a piece of tragedy, and somehow joy._

"_Julia," the woman began, "I have to leave, but I promise you that I'll always be right here for you." She placed her hand on the girl's heart and leaned down so that they were eye-to-eye._

"_Mom, you won't have to be there, 'cause you'll always be here with me, right?" The young girl's innocent eyes gazed into her mother's older, more realistic, depressed eyes. _

"_Julia, you must promise me something," the mother started, ignoring her daughter's question. "Promise me that you'll look after this, and Promise me that you'll be happy, and find all you ever wanted." Julia nodded, and she looked at her mom confused._

"_Why?" she asked again, "You'll always be here, won't you?"_

_The river of tears that had flowed down the older woman's face before were nothing compared to what they were now. They were like waterfalls of sadness, cascading down her face._

"_No," the woman told her daughter, "I have to... I have to go away for a little bit, Julia." _

"_No mommy, stay here with me!" Julia demanded. Tears sprung to her eyed, and she cried. Her other leaned over and kissed her on he cheek._

"_I have to go," she replied. "The woman that you'll be staying with is very nice. She's a good friend of mine. You must treat her kindly, OK?" _

_Julia nodded and asked, "when will you be back?" Her mother shook her head._

"_I don't know when Julia, but I'll always watch over you. Goodbye."_

_Julia watched her mother walk towards the sun. "No, mom, it's not goodbye," she began. "We'll see each other again, so it's not goodbye."_

_Her mother smiled, a gorgeous sight, and replied, "you're correct, my little angel. I'll see you soon."_

"_See you soon, mom," Julia replied. She watched her mom walk into the horizon until she disappeared. A woman about the same age as her mother gently touched her shoulder. She was crying too. "Come on Julia, we have to leave." Julia turned and left with the woman, her mother's closest friend, but before she completely left, she looked towards the sun. Her mother wasn't there._

_That had been the last time she had seen her mother, Michelle._

Julia awoke with a start. Tears from a tragedy long ago dripped down her face, but she brushed them away. She realized where she was, and was startled to see the necklace in her hands. She opened the closet and walked out of the hotel, totally deaf to Ling's screams for her. She walked down the street and stopped at a phone booth. She went inside and pushed some change into the coin slot. She dialed a familiar number, and CC answered on he first ring.

"Mom," Julia said, "I have the necklace, I'm coming home." Her mother asked something over the phone, and about a minute later a black Limousine pulled up in front of the phone booth. It had the letters CC on it. Julia climbed in, and the driver steered her to the nearest airport. Julia was glad she could finally be home, safe again. Those were her last thoughts, until she saw the gun pointed at her. There was a gunshot, and Julia dropped onto the leather seat of the backseat. Heihachi turned around and smiled. He had finally caught the traitor. It had been non other than CC's adopted daughter. Things were starting to turn in his favor. His grandson and Hwoarang were stealing back the map at this moment, and Ling had successfully guarded the necklace, unknowingly of course.

His vicious grin spread evilly across his wrinkled face. Things were going well indeed.


	16. Brought together by Evil

_Hi! On to the story!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own TEKKEN_

Bang!

Hwoarang jerked back a little as he watched the bullet move towards Jin. Everything was in black and white as the small piece of lead pushed against the air. Then he made the mistake of looking his victim in the eyes.

Jin's eyes were haunted. Fear of what was going to happen, hatred towards the World, loss of his future, and a sense of betrayal aimed at him, Hwoarang, who shot him.

Then a color appeared. Red. Blood Red.

It spattered all over his vision; the gory color seeping from Jin into the ancient floor of the unfamiliar house they were in. It was another memory that would be added to the faded floors. Jin's eyes fluttered close as his ragged breathing slowed to a meager pace. Hwoarang watched as the life was drained from the once great martial artist. It was all by a gun. An innocent looking, small object that was made to kill-no, destroy others.

Then the colors rushed back. The gloomy light that pervaded the area, and the dusty air that reflected the light, forming angel rays, shining down into the house, adding light to the dull surroundings. How ironic that these messages of hope were shining down on Jin, a person nearing death.

Jin's painful gasps ceased, and Hwoarang stared in horror at his still form. His hands shook unbearably, and he dropped the gun. It made a dull thump as it hit the floor. He ran. He ran away from that room, away from that death, away from that gun, and he didn't know where he was going, but anywhere was better than the place that he had murdered an innocent man.

By the time he had stopped, he was in the middle of the cursed Egyptian City. His legs were aching from over-exertion, and he was panting. He looked up and found himself right by the hotel where he had been with his friends just hours before... this.

He looked inside and saw Ling fighting several Combots. Small streams of flames surrounded the battered building, and there were people watching from the outside, cheering in languages he didn't know.

He watched as Ling was struck down. She didn't get up. Unexpectedly, he saw Jin's dying eyes again. He remembered the loss in them. It was loss for his future, his future with her.

He had already killed Jin, but he couldn't let Ling die also He owed it to Jin. He knew how much they loved each other.

His legs once again took control of his body as he ran into the building and saved the barely conscious Ling from the oncoming Combots. He scooped her up into his arms and ran outside the building. Someone was missing... Where was Julia?

"Where's Julia?" he asked the coughing Chinese girl frantically. She got control of herself and tried to speak.

"She left. She has the necklace." Hwoarang almost laughed. Julia had the necklace. They could go back home, and yet, he didn't feel like it was worth it. He set Ling down on the pavement, but before he could leave, she grasped his leg.

"Jin?" she asked. Her eyes were filled with worry, sadness, and an odd glimmer of hope. Hwoarang glanced back up, away from her and shook his head. His voice cracked as he answered her question. He felt a lone tear trace its' way down his face.

"Jin is dead."

Julia lifted her head ever so slowly. Her arm was aching as if it had been shot, and then she remembered. She had been sot. She tried to move her arms, but metal chains limited her mobility. Her legs weren't bound though. There was no way to escape. What had happened? Why wasn't she at home?

Angrily, she pulled against the metal with all of her might, but it was futile. Then she remembered something.

"_Julia, I want you to keep this with you." Julia looked up at her 'mother'. She was holding a small lock pick. _

"_OK," Julia replied. She went to drop it in her pocket, but CC stopped her. _

"_Keep it on your body," she explained. She then handed Julia a thin, silver, anklet. Julia slid the key through the anklet and fastened it on to her leg. Her mother nodded. _

"_This might come in handy," she told her adopted daughter. Julia just nodded. She had forgotten about the anklet that very day. It never seemed to her that she would use it. The only time she noticed it was when she took a shower. _

Julia gasped. How could she have forgotten? She kicked off her shoes with her unbound lags, and then she rid herself of her socks. Next, she lowered her arms as far as the chains would allow. It was suprisingly far, almost down to her waist. She bent her legs and lifted the one with the anklet up to her hand. She grabbed the lock pick and pulled on the chain. It broke without much of a hassle. Eagerly, she undid the locks to the cuffs wrapped around her wrists, and she put back on her socks and shoes. Then something fell out of her pocket. It was the necklace. Didn't they take it from her? She then examined her room for some place that she could climb out of. There was a small, barred, window in one of the upper corners.

_This is almost too easy, _she thought. She used the lock pit to undo the screws that kept the bars in place and scampered out the window. The place she had just escaped from had been underground. There was nothing except fields and old, badly paved streets. And there was a slightly ripped piece of paper. Julia picked the paper up and gasped. It was the map. The map to the buried treasure! Anxiously she examined it. It had words written in ancient hieroglyphics on it. Julia squinted at the symbols for a moment before she began to read. This was written in the ancient language her mother had taught her long ago! What she read shocked her immensely. Her eyes were wide, and she was almost shaking from surprise and excitement. She had to get this to Hwoarang!

Heihachi laughed as he watched Julia read the map that he had left out for her. Kazuya had never stolen the real map; his was only a copy. He knew she was the only person alive that could read what it said. He couldn't torture her for information. He had tried that before with her mother, Michelle. She had died before she had given him anything. So now he was going to watch her, and he was going to let her lead him to this buried treasure. She could recruit whom ever she saw fit, even Ling or his grandson. In fact, he needed to tell Ling that his Tekken forces weren't watching her family, and that she was free to do whatever she wanted. He had even let Kazuya have his wife back. That way he could exterminate both of them when they betrayed him. His smile broadened. He was going to make them suffer.

Jin coughed as he lifted himself off of the floor. He was looking at his hands in a mixture of wonder and horror. He clearly remembered Hwoarang shooting him, but shouldn't he be dead. There wasn't even a wound. There was no blood on the floor, and none on his outfit. _It doesn't make sense, _he thought. He remembered all the other times that he was injured and it didn't even scratch him. Why?

Suddenly the door swung open. Kazuya strode in, a relatively peaceful look on his face. In his arms he held a small Japanese woman. She was bloody, and she looked tired, but she was smiling broadly up at Kazuya. She was like a beautiful angel. Jin felt his heart stop.

"Mom... is that you," his mother turned and smiled at him. Tears of happiness fell from his eyes. Kazuya gently set her on the floor, and she ran into her son's arms. Tears of happiness flowed from the both of their eyes as Kazuya tried to look indifferent; however, there was a small smile on even his rough, unkind face.

Jin's mother looked up at him and said, "I've missed you so much. Now we can all be a family" Jin nodded, filled with extreme happiness, but a sudden image floated into his mind. Ling stood there, smiling sadly at him. He knew that she was still enslaved by Heihachi, and he couldn't let her suffer like that. It was pain beyond anything he had felt before, but he slowly pulled away from his mother.

"I really want to," he began, looking at her sparkling eyes, "but there is something I have to do first. I'm sorry." His mother looked up at him before she nodded.

"I understand. There are things we are put on this earth to do, and we cannot abandon the calling to do those things. Jin, you have grown so much, both mentally and physically, but you're still my baby, and I don't want to lose you. Promise me that you won't die."

Jin looked at his mother and whispered, "I promise."

Jun Kazama leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I love you, son," she whispered.

Jin smiled; he would be back soon, and then he could catch up on time missed with his mother. There was so much to catch up on. "I love you to, mom."

With that he pulled away and headed towards the hotel. He had to help Ling, but first, he had to see her and tell her how much he loved her.

Ling heard the words come out of Hwoarang's mouth, but somehow, she couldn't believe him. Jin wasn't dead. She had just seen him this morning! He couldn't be dead! It was impossible! The shocking news, mixed with her disbelief and worn down body made the world spin. She saw the Tekkenshu out of her peripheral vision, and she heard Hwoarang curse before he ran away. Then she passed out. While her head fell to the ground, she saw Jin, smiling at her. He couldn't be dead. She would know if he were.

When Ling woke up, she was once again in a hospital. The room was brightly lit, but it was sterile looking and unfriendly. Sitting beside her bed was Heihachi. That wasn't fight. Where was Jin? He was always beside her when she awoke in a hospital. She looked around. Jin was no where in sight.

"Jin is dead, and both Julia and Hwoarang are missing," Heihachi answered her unasked question. Ling tried to hide her sadness. "I have decided that you are not effective in your job. You allowed Julia to get away with the necklace. I have released your family, and you are free to go. However, if you tell anybody about this, I will kill you and your family."

Ling gulped, something in his eyes told her to do as he said. A mixture of happiness and sadness engulfed her. She was finally free, but Jin was dead. Tears of both happiness and sadness streamed down her face. Heihachi left the room, and Ling changed into a simple white dress that was left for her, along with flat sandals. Her tears increased. How ironic that she was finally free, but the person she wanted to spend her freedom with was dead. She grabbed the bundle of money Heihachi had left her for plane tickets, and she shoved it into the small handbag she was given, also from Heihachi.

She strode out of the hospital building. She hated that she had to depend on that vile man's charity. She hated him. He had enslaved her, and his selfishness had led to the death of his only grandson.

"I never even told him," she began, but she was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Told who what?" the voice asked. "You aren't cheating on me, are you?"

Ling looked up at the speaker. He was a tall, well built man with spiky black hair and incredibly handsome features.

"Jin," she cried happily, launching herself into his arms. He held her close, and Ling finally felt safe again. This was the kind of safety she only felt around him. She inhaled his familiar face and started to cry into his muscled chest. They stood there, in the middle of the street, for what seemed like hours. Finally, Ling pulled back slightly.

She reached an arm up to trace his face with her small hands, and she breathlessly asked, "is this real?"

Jin nodded and replied, "yes. It all is. You should know that I'd never leave you." He leaned down and delivered a tender kiss to her sweet lips, and she eagerly responded, wrapping her hands around his neck.

The need for air forced them to separate, and Ling said, "guess what! I'm free!" Jin looked surprised for a moment before he smiled at her. Then she continued her heart felt speech. "There's no one I want to be with more than you," she whispered to him, "Jin, I think I love you."

She watched as his eyes brightened, and he pulled her in for a more passionate kiss. She responded, trailing her fingers through his hair as he licked at her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She opened her mouth to let his tongue enter, and their tongues began the ritual battle. Ling felt complete happiness.

They finally pulled back, and a slightly breathless Jin replied, "I love you too." He pulled her in for a third kiss, and the two of them were both floating in their own heaven, where only they existed, and where nothing could tear them apart.

_So did you like this chapter? Please R&R! I want to know what you think!_

_This is to my loyal reviewers:_

_**Karisan-karisan: **thanx for the review! I hope this answers the questions you had! _

_**Y?: **I honestly have no idea why it's doing that. I don't control that, it's the server... I really don't know what's wrong, sorry! I'm a dunce on computers... I can only upload my files onto ... Hopefully it will clear up. _

_**Ignes Fatui: **So do you like this chapter better? Mwahahaha! I really kept everyone worried about Jin for a long time, didn't I?_

_**XInfernal: **I'm really glad you like Ling in my story! It's an honor! Please keep reviewing!_

_**Daisy!**: I'm glad you liked it! I tried to update quickly! Please keep reviewing! I'm sorry for not mentioning you in the last chapter. I updated before I read your review..._

_**The Writing Bee: **Sorry for not mentioning you last chapter. I'm glad you like my story, and I can't wait for you to write a story! I'll be your first reviewer! (As long as it's in an anime or game ect. that I know!) Writings a tough job, so take it slowly, and don't let anything anyone says deter you! Good luck and please keep reading and reviewing!_

_I think that's everyone! If I missed you, it's my sincerest apology! I promise to mention you next chapter! Please R&R! _


	17. One Gunshot

Hi guys! It was good to know that you liked my last chapter! I'm here with a new update! It's been really hard to write this! I keep getting writer's block! I hope you like this chapter! I already have almost everything plotted out in my head, but I still have to write it all down. The only thing I don't know is who I'm going to have kill Heihachi. Julia's not an option because she is doing something else at the same time...I'll probably make it Jin, but I really don't know. Any suggestions on that would be great. I want to thank all my reviewers, you'll get personal thank yous next chapter.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken. _

Bonds of Love 

Hwoarang was running. He didn't dare look behind him in fear that what was chasing him would catch up. But what was chasing him? At first Hwoarang convinced himself that he was running from the Tekkenshu, but that was absurd. He could easily fight all of them off. However, he was still running from something. Something that he would probably always be running from. His pursuer was guilt.

Despite the fact that he turned away when he told Ling the news of Jin's death, he could still feel her denial, her suffering, and her agony. He couldn't go back there and tell her that he was the one who shot the man she loved. That would be worse than tearing out her heart. He felt like a monster. He was something that didn't deserve t live, yet here he was, running from the consequences of his actions.

He stopped. Shaky breaths helped him to regain his composure, and he leaned against an alley wall to keep him from falling over. He had to find Julia. She had the necklace, and she was his responsibility. He had to make sure that she wasn't hurt. He pushed himself of the wall on shaky, unsteady feet. Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulder. On reflex, he grabbed their arm and flipped him over his shoulder.

"Nice way to treat your fiancée," Julia muttered as she got off the ground. Hwoarang shrugged and reached out an arm to pull her to her feet. Once she was there, she pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. Hwoarang looked at it, and he wondered why Julia would have such a worthless old thing in her possession.

"This," Julia whispered excitedly, "is the map that Heihachi needs to find the hidden treasure." She held it up proudly, and Hwoarang closely examined it.

"Julia, how does this help us? It's not even written in any recognizable language, as far as I can tell." Hwoarang glanced at Julia in doubt, but Julia just smiled with a weird glint in her eyes.

"Hwoarang, that's where you're wrong. I can read that language fluently. All we need is the other key, and we can be rich beyond comparison. The only problem is that we'll need at least two other strong fighters to come with us." Julia smiled at the map, and Hwoarang was taken aback. Since when was Julia so obsessed with money.

"Julia, I don't think this is a good"- he was cut off by Julia putting a hand to his mouth.

"It doesn't matter," Julia replied, "I have to do this. It's in my blood. It's my destiny. The map says so." Her eyes were serious, but there was a hint of longing, and sadness hidden within them. He couldn't stand it.

"Julia, since when did you let an old piece of paper control your fate?" Julia glared up at him.

"Let me read it to you, then you can decide if what I'm doing is right." Julia lifted the paper and began to read what was inscribed upon it. Hwoarang's eyes widen as he realized that she was right. Her destiny was tied into this, and mot only hers, but al four of theirs, Ling's, Jin's, and his owns. With each word she read of, Hwoarang believed in her cause more and more. He temporarily forgot his guilt over Jin, all that mattered was that they get the third key and follow the map. They had to find this treasure.

Ling suddenly felt a cold wind hit her. _That's weird, _she thought, _it is such a warm day too. _ She looked around, but no one seemed bothered by the sudden gut of cold air. It was like they didn't even feel it. Jin looked down at her and asked, "are you cold?"

They were walking down the street, hand in hand, enjoying their togetherness. Ling looked up at him confused. "Of course I am. Didn't you feel that cold breeze?" She looked up at Jin, but he was just staring at her with a bemused expression.

"Cold breeze? Ling, it's eighty some degrees out here, I don't seriously think that there would be a cold breeze."

Then Ling felt it. This time it wasn't cold though. It was an ominous breeze, laced with something,,, foreboding, or at least that would be the best word to describe it. She glanced over at Jin, and his confused look met hers. He had felt it too. They took off at a run, towards the strongest place the weird feeling seemed to come from. Ling didn't really want to go there, but it felt as if the feeling was beckoning to her.

They turned a corer and fond themselves in a dead end alley. Julia and Hwoarang were already there. Suprisingly, the feeling was coming from _them. _Neither Julia nor Hwoarang acknowledged their presence. It was like they weren't even there.For some reason, Jin growled at them, and his hand tightened around Ling's, so much that it hurt. Ling looked up at him and said, "Jin, let go! You're hurting me."

Then she gasped. Jin's eyes were glowing, flashing red. His grip on her hand tightened, and Ling screamed. For some reason, Julia and Hwoarang didn't try to help her. Jin was brought to his knees, and he dragged Ling down with him. A purple cloud surrounded him as he screamed in pain. Blue beams of electricity crackled around him as the horribly familiar marking appeared on his body. One of the sparks of electrical energy flowing around Jin burned her crushed hand, and another scream was torn from her throat.

"Jin! Stop! You're hurting me! Please! Stop! Julia! Hwoarang! Help me!" Jin made no response as he held on to her trapped hand, but Julia and Hwoarang snapped out of their trance-like state. Julia gasped in shock before she and Hwoarang ran over to try and pry Jin off of her. Jin didn't even seemed bothered by their attempts. Hwoarang and Julia were both shocked by Jin's electric currents, and they fell off of him to the ground. Julia stared at her burnt hands before she grabbed Jin again. In the scuttle, Julia dropped the map. For some strange reason, as soon as the map hit the ground, Jin calmed down.

Ling quickly pulled her arm from his grasp as Jin came back to normal. He was gasping for air as he looked around. His eyes caught sight of Hwoarang, and Ling watched as Jin lunged at him. Hwoarang, still catching his breath after his struggle to help Ling, was caught by complete surprise and easily pinned to the ground. Jin proceeded to smack him around. However, Hwoarang did nothing in his defense. He just sat there and let Jin beat him.

Julia was the first to take action. She threw herself on Jin and tried to pry him off of Hwoarang, and she was soon helped by a horrified Ling. Jin ignored them, that is he tried to ignore them. While Ling was only trying to pry Jin off of Hwoarang, Julia had taken to beating him with her fists, and when that didn't work, kicking him furiously. Finally, they managed to drag a raging Jin off of Hwoarang. Together they held him back so that he wouldn't be able to harm the poor Korean any more.

"Jin! Why did you attack Hwoarang unprovoked?" Ling asked. "You should be thanking him! Earlier today, he saved me from getting killed by Combots! Instead, you're beating the crap out of a friend!" She jerked Jin around so that he was facing her, but she quickly hid her bruised hand from him. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Friend!" Jin raged, "that thing is no friend!" He pointed down at the bloody heap that lay at his feet. He started to continue, but Hwoarang interrupted him.

"He's right. I'm not a friend. I'm a cruel, backstabbing monster. I deserve the beating he gave me and more." Hwoarang looked at the ground. It was obvious that he was in pain about something, but Ling couldn't tell what. She glanced over at Julia, but she looked utterly confused too.

"What are you talking about?" Ling asked. "What could you have possibly done? You saved my life today, and you're a good friend. What did you do that would make you believe that you were worthless? " Hwoarang looked up at them, but instead of the cocky, sarcastic martial artist they were used to seeing, Hwoarang looked desolate. A single tear traced a path down his bloodstained cheek. Now Ling was scared. What would cause Hwoarang to cry?

"Today, I shot someone. I thought they died at my hands." Hwoarang paused for a second, and Ling's heart stopped. _What is he talking about? _She thought. "The man I shot was Jin Kazama."

Everything seemed to pause for a second as Ling absorbed the information. Hwoarang... Shot... Jin?!? But then it all made sense. He was the first one to know. He was the person that told her! Immediately, she felt anger. It buried itself, red hot, into her very being. Then she remembered something.

Hwoarang glanced back up, away from her and shook his head. His voice cracked as he answered her question. A lone tear traced its' way down his face.

She was still angry, nothing could stop that. But now, Ling was confused. If he had truly killed Jin, just to kill Jin, then why would he have cried over his death. It just didn't make sense. Ling slowly walked up to Hwoarang, and when she could clearly see his eyes she asked, "why?"

She watched as Hwoarang's eyes were filled with pain as he answered the question. The eight words that slipped out of his mouth would change everything. Hwoarang answered, "I shot Jin because I was ordered too."

Silence reigned once again in the abandoned alley. Then Julia whispered, "you couldn't of been ordered to. Mom would never tell anybody to kill another person." Her eyes were filling with unshed tears as she balanced two shocking facts. One, that her fiancée had almost killed one of her friends, and two, her adopted mother had been the one to order it.

Hwoarang slowly shook his head. "Your mother wasn't the woman either of us thought she was, Julia. Accept it. She wants to find this treasure as much as Heihachi does."

Julia looked at all of them before she shook her head no. "CC must of meant something else!" she screamed at them. "CC would never do that! She wouldn't! She's not that selfish! None of us are except for you! Here, take it! Take it all!" With that said, she threw the map and the necklace at Hwoarang before running off. Tears littered the air behind her as they all watched her go.

"Hwoarang turned to them, looking scared shitless of what they might do to him, but to Ling's surprise, he held out a hand to Hwoarang and helped him up.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you," Jin told him, "but sometimes, when they threaten something you care for, you have no choice. I would've done the same thing."

Ling was confused, but Hwoarang stared at Jin. "How did you know that they threatened Julia?" He asked.

Jin shook his head, "why else?"

Having temporarily put their problems behind them, the three of them chased after Julia. Ling was still shocked that Julia's mother could be so cruel. How could any mother do that to her daughter? Adopted or not, it doesn't matter. Ling could also see why Julia was in such denial. The way she described her to Ling, Ling thought she was the sweetest woman in the world. This just proved that looks could be deceiving. Breaking away from her thoughts, Ling chased after Julia. They needed to calm her down and explain everything. After all, she had a right to know.

Julia collapsed against the wall of a store. She hadn't meant what she had said about him being greedy, but her mother would never do anything like that. After all, her real mother, Michelle had trusted her. They were best friends! She remembered all the good things CC had taught her so cleary, starting when they first met.

She watched her mom walk into the horizon until she disappeared. A woman about the same age as her mother gently touched her shoulder. She was crying too. "Come on Julia, we have to leave." Julia turned and left with the woman, her mother's closest friend.

If CC wanted the treasure so badly that it would lead her to order someone's execution, why would she cry for Michelle? More memories flooded her mind.

"_Julia, how are you doing honey?" Julia looked up at her new 'mother' and sighed. She was twelve years old, and in school they had been studying World War 2. That was something Julia just didn't get, she hated war! "CC, why do people kill one another? Why is their war?" She watched CC sigh, and for once, her happy nature was dimmed. She sat down beside Julia and explained. "Jules, war is an evil thing. To take the life of any person is a horrible act that can almost never be forgiven. I don't know why people kill each other, perhaps it is because they are greedy or weak-willed. Or maybe, they're fighting for someone or something. War results from the same ineptitude. Someone once said, 'to err is to be human.' Maybe this is why we do these horrible things. Maybe it is to cover up our imperfections?" Julia listened intently, soaking up her mentor's every word._

_She replied, "I think your right mommy. If we weren't humans, we wouldn't kill, but if we weren't humans would we be able to experience the good things in life? I guess humanity is a double-edged sword."_

_CC smiled at her ward's response. She sighed. "Mom, what are you smiling about?" CC leaned over to kiss her daughter on the forehead._

"_That's the first time you've ever called me mom." Julia smiled also._

"_I love you mom," she said._

_CC smiled back. "I love you too."_

Julia sighed. If her mother felt like that about killing, then why would she order Hwoarang to kill Jin? It didn't make sense. Either Hwoarang made one serious mistake, or her life had been one bid lie. Who was she supposed to trust? Her adopted mother, who treated her like she was an angel, or Hwoarang, the only man to understand her, the person she loved? She leaned her head back against the building. In a world where everything was being torn apart, did the truth have to be so difficult to find?

Jin tore around a corner, and the three of them left the maze of alleyways that they had previously been encompassed in. Julia was straight ahead, leaning against a building. Tears ran down her face, and she was clearly deep in thought. In a way, Jin understood her. She was facing disbelief. Jin had stared that straight in the eye when he had learned about Heihachi and his mother. He sighed. His mother. He wanted to get back to her so badly that it hurt, but first he had to tend to hie friends, Heihachi, and Ling. Then he could be happy. He vaguely thought back to some of the time he spent with her.

A seven-year-old Jin pranced around the small house he and his mother and father shared. Dad wasn't home much, and right now it was just the two of them. "Mommy can't catch me!" he exclaimed happily.

_Jun Kazama chased after her young son as he ran around the house. "Jin Kazama, come back here this instant! It's time for your martial arts training."_

_Jin looked back at her and said, "I don't wanna!" Suddenly he ran into something hard. He was swept off the floor into strong arms._

_A deep voice startled him. "Jin, I never thought I'd hear my son say he didn't want to learn martial arts. Are you sure that you're mine?"_

_Jin struggled against his father's strong hold. "Let me go meanie! Put me down! Mommy, daddy's hurting me!"_

_Kazuya chuckled as he set Jin down. "You know, if you studied Martial Arts more, you wouldn't have to scream for your mommy!"_

_Jin stuck a tongue out at his father before he ran back to his mom. "Mommy's going to teach me martial arts, and then I'm going to kick your butt!"_

_Jun laughed at her son's sudden enthusiasm. She pecked her husband on the cheek before kneeling down in front of her son. "Come on Jin! If you want to be strong, we have to star training right now!" Jin nodded and followed hid mother out into the forested garden where they usually trained. The rest of the day was spent with his mother training him in the sacred ways of the Kazama style while Kazuya looked over them, their Guardian Angel. _

Jin stopped running. Those days were the happy days, before Kazuya abandoned them to go and kill Heihachi. Then he had disappeared, and Jun had been captured. The rest was history. Jin had always hated his dad for abandoning them before, but when he saw them together today, everything came together perfectly, like pieces in a puzzle. He was starting to understand why his dad left them to fight Heihachi, and maybe he could find it within himself to forgive his father. Then they could be a family again.

Jin was lost in thought about what he wanted to happen, so he didn't see the gunman until it was too late. He heard a gunshot, and he vaguely heard Ling shout his name before she was slammed against him. He tried to lift them up, and he felt the blood on his hands. Jin was very confused. He didn't feel pain anywhere. Suddenly, a horrible thought came to mind, and he rolled Ling over. Her white dress was stained with scarlet. Her eyes were closed almost peacefully, but her face was frozen in a frown and flecked with blood. _No, _he thought, _please no! _Despite his denial, he couldn't erase what had happened. Ling had been shot. Her sweet life was leaving her quickly, and if Jin didn't do something about it quickly, she was going to die. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Julia and Hwoarang running towards him. A tear ran down his face, landing on his dying love. He knew he had to do something, but all e could do was stare down in shock at her.

Hwoarang lifted her out of his frozen arms and he heard him yelling something to Julia. Julia grabbed on of the passerby's cell phone and dialed a number. Hwoarang had ripped off a piece of his shirt and pressed it to Ling's wound to apply pressure and to try and stop the bleeding. Within a few minutes, a vehicle drove up. However, it wasn't an ambulance. Hwoarang yelled at Julia about something, and she angrily answered back. Jin didn't know what they were saying. For some reason he had gone deaf. Defeated, Hwoarang ran Ling over to the ambulance like vehicle while Julia grabbed him by the arm and dragged him in too. All trough this, all Jin could think about was the fact that the bullet was supposed to hit him, but because she pushed him out of the way, she was now the one dying. He prayed to all the gods that he could trade places with her, and he vowed never to let it happen ever again. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her, no matter what.


	18. Evil Lurks Behind familiar Faces

_Mwahahahaha! It seems that all I have to do to get more reviews is almost kill one of the main characters off! Anyway, I'm probably not going to be able to update much (if any) between Nov. 20 and Dec. 17 because my first semester is reaching it's end and I have way to many essays, projects, and finals. If I seem a little mad during this time... Well you guys understand, right? Most of you have been/ are going to high school or college and you know how important finals are! The pain, the suffering! (For you people who aren't in high school yet, take very good, **legible **notes if you want to pass!) Sorry, I got carried away there... Anyway, here are the reviewer responses!_

_**Karisan-karisan: **thanx a lot for the review! I hope you update soon, I love your story!_

_**Ignes Fatui: **Yes I do enjoy torturing you, not! I hope you like this chapter, and please update your great story soon!!!_

_**Sunshine: **Mwahaha! Read and find out what I put our fabulous Tekken characters through! _

_**XInfernal: **I like listening to sad music too. In fact, I was listening to sad music when I wrote that chapter...Oh! The Julia thing is a typo. I was writing that at 2 AM so I missed a few mistakes... That was supposed to be Ling, sorry! _

_**TheWishOfNight: **Thanx for the review. Yes I have read Shadow-Raven's stories, and she's on my favorite authors list. Her stories are awesome! _

_**Its me!: **Glad you liked it! I'll try to keep my updates as frequent as possible, but I'm really busy with school and that has to come first..._

_**Jill: **Thank you!!!!!!!! Please keep reviewing!_

_**Thedarksavior: **Thanx! Kazuya stayed in the room, but he didn't interrupt the mother son moment since at that point in the story, he and Jin still didn't understand each other or get along._

_**Diamond Xiaoli: **Wow! Thank you so much! I'm glad to know the person whose stories got me started in writing Xiaoyin stories thinks me so highly of me! _

_**Wow!: **thanx! I can see your enthusiasm through the name you chose! _

_**TheWishOfNight: **Sorry about your computer! I know how you feel! My computer always has something wrong with it..._

_**TheWritingBee: **thanx for the review! I checked your story out and I really liked it! _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken_

Bonds of Love 

Hwoarang panicked as Ling collapsed on Jin. He tried to glimpse her assailant, but he didn't see anyone armed with a weapon. He looked back over to Jin, and saw that the poor guy was in shock, Well, who wouldn't be? His girlfriend was just shot right in front of him blocking a bullet that was probably meant for him!

Hwoarang ran over to his injured friend, and from the corner of his eyes he saw Julia running towards them from the other direction. He gently pulled Ling off of Jin and saw that there was a massive amount of blood smeared across her dress. He didn't know humans had that much blood.

Acting quickly, he ripped a piece of his shirt off and wrapped it around the bleeding girl, careful not to apply too much pressure lest he do something wrong. Julia had finally gotten there, and he watched as she surveyed the scene through wide eyes.

"Julia," he screamed, "Call an ambulance, quick!" She looked around frantically for a while before grabbing a cell phone from an unsuspecting man's hand. She dialed a number, and Hwoarang had to turn his attention back to Ling. He had to keep her alive until help came.

Suddenly it arrived, but it wasn't an ambulance. Hwoarang was even sure if it was the help that they desperately needed... or something far worse than their current problem. It was a large, black van with the silver initials CC on the side. Hwoarang glared at Julia who was already beckoning him towards the vehicle.

"What the Hell?!? You expect me to take her there! Those people are murderers Julia!" He stared straight at her, waiting for her response.

"Hwoarang we have no other choice! We have to hurry, she's dying!" She screamed back at him.

Hwoarang glanced from her to the van to Ling. Despite his efforts, she was still loosing blood at an alarming pace, and Julia was right, if they didn't go then she would die. Making his decision quickly, Hwoarang picked her up and carried her to the vehicle. He handed her over to the professionals inside and quickly climbed in himself.

Julia watched as one of her only friends was laid out on a stretcher with all sorts of odd equipment attached to her. It was the only thing keeping her alive! Her skin was now pale and it was clear from the ragged way she was breathing that the bullet had punctured something important. Julia looked closely at her friend and hoped that she would be ok. She glanced around at the men dressed in almost regular looking hospital uniforms. The only difference was the large CC insignia on their shirts. There were to many risks in taking Ling to a regular hospital. For one thing, they didn't really like gun wounds, and they would ask several questions. For another thing, Ling is a missing person, wouldn't they wonder what a missing Chinese girl would e doing all the way in Egypt? It was way to risky for that.

Ling switched her glance to Hwoarang and noticing he was trying to snap Jin out of the shock he had fallen under. He was just staring at his hands with a bewildered look on his face as if he was frozen at the exact moment of when everything happened. Julia wondered about Jin. Was there more to him than what met the eye? Why were those people trying to shoot him? What was that thing that he was turning into when they were in the alley? Why did it stop when the map dropped from her hands? Could the treasure and whatever was happening to him be connected in any way? There were too many questions and no answers.

The speedy vehicle pulled up to a large American style manor surrounded by the desert. The men carried Ling out on her stretcher and into the manor. Julia watched as Jin came back to life as his eyes followed the stretcher into the building. Julia stepped out of the van, and an older woman suddenly rushed to her side and enveloped her in a bear hug.

"CC," Julia whispered as she returned the warm embrace, choosing to ignore the cold stares she was receiving from Hwoarang and Jin. "It's so good to see you mom," she whispered.

Her 'mother' pulled away from her and kissed her on the cheek. Julia knew that there was probably a giant red lipstick mark on her cheek, and she made a weak smile.

"So, honey, where's the necklace?" she asked sweetly, but in her eyes there was something similar to malice.

"Mom, can I see Ling first?" Julia asked, slightly worried that her mother was acting this way. It was almost as if Hwoarang was right about her, but she was really a sweet woman, right?

"Sure honey, we'll have this all settled by tomorrow!" Julia looked at CC. One of her best friends was in the hospital, and she was playing it off like it was nothing. Something was very wrong here... This could not be the CC she grew up with.

Julia fingered the engagement ring that was hidden under her shirt. She could tell CC, but right now she just didn't know what to do. For now it all depended on how quickly Ling recovered, if she recovered.

CC led them inside the temporary mansion that she was staying in while they were in Egypt. While the outside was furnished in a very American style, the inside was another story. Egyptian Hieroglyphics were drawn on the walls in gold paint to form abstract art. Coffins and ancient Egyptian furniture were stylishly strewn across the rooms. The poor lighting added to the ancient Egyptian tomb style. Julia shivered. She hoped that the rest of the house wasn't like this, it freaked her out.

CC led them to their rooms, and Julia was relieved to see that her temporary room here looked exactly like her room back in Arizona. She fell backwards onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. Unconsciously, she let out a deep breath she hadn't known she had been holding in. Her ceiling fan was a deep brown that contrasted sharply with the off white walls. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she noticed something that had definitely not been in her previous room. A small camera that was cleverly disguised by the fan returned her stare. Julia's eyes shot open as she remembered something Hwoarang said to her only earlier today.

"Your mother wasn't the woman either of us thought she was, Julia. Accept it. She wants to find this treasure as much as Heihachi does."

Could have been she that refused to accept the truth? Maybe CC was after the treasure? Would she be willing to kill them all just for some gold? Julia's heart was screaming that CC couldn't do that, but after all, it could've all been one big act. Julia found that as she searched her mind she really didn't know the answer to her questions. CC was a good woman, but greed could corrupt almost anyone. All she knew was that if her friends were hurt because she led them to the enemy, she could never forgive herself.

Jin grabbed an unsuspecting maid from the hall. "Excuse me," he began in slightly accented English, "do you know where the they're keeping Ling Xiaoyu?"

The startled woman looked taken aback and stuttered, "sorry. I don't know anyone by that name."

Jin let go of her arm and asked, "then do you know about the girl who was brought in here wit a gunshot wound?" Once again, the woman shook her head no.

"Sorry sir, but I haven't seen any new comers hear except you!" She practically ran away from the poor young man to get back to her duties. Jin sighed. That had been the third maid he had asked, and they all responded the same way. Either he really needed to work on his people skills, or they were hiding something from him.

"Jin, that's no way to attract the girls," an annoying voice spoke from the shadows. Jin growled. Just because he understood why Hwoarang did what he did, that didn't mean he was anywhere near forgiving the red-headed Korean.

"What do you want?" Jin asked calmly. Hwoarang stepped out of the shadows and walked towards Jin, his hands in his pockets.

"We both know that these people are hiding something from us. I've been asking around too, but they've always avoided the topic or run off. Something seriously wrong is going on here, and it started a few months ago. I've known CC for almost as long as Julia has, and up until she threatened me, I believed that she was the sweetest woman in the world. Julia just can't accept the fact that her adoptive mother might not be as nice as Julia thinks she is. I think I know where Ling is. If you want to see her, follow me."

Jin growled as he followed Hwoarang through the dark halls of the giant mansion. He didn't know if this was some ploy on Hwoarang's part to help him regain Jin's trust, or if it was something more sinister. Even so, he followed Hwoarang because he trust the man who shot him over anyone else here, and that was saying something. Hwoarang opened a huge door, and they came across a part of the mansion that looked like it could be a hospital. While no one was there at the moment, it had everything needed.

Suddenly, Jin heard something, and he grabbed Hwoarang, and, without thinking, pulled them both into the closet. Jin stayed silent as four people wandered past their hiding place. Three of them were wearing doctor's uniforms, but the forth, that woman CC, was wearing regular clothing.

"So, how is the girl?" she asked. Her voice was much different from when Jin heard it earlier...It was much colder.

"The girl is fine. She's in room 20846. The fake blood that exploded from the tranquilizer dart on impact was perfect. She'll be out cold for a few more days, and when she wakes up, we'll have her... Dealt with accordingly." The man who spoke these words was sort and stubby with a nearly bald-head that was sparsely populated with gray hair. He turned to his fellow colleagues to get their opinions.

"Remember, we can't kill her yet Mr. Leviad. There are many things we could do instead with a martial artist o her caliber." The second man replied. His voice was crackled as he talked making him sound like a madman.

"To bad she was the one who was hit. Hwoarang proved that he had the Devil Gene, or else how would he survive that shot! If Jin had been hit like he was supposed to, then we could have analyzed the Devil Gene..." Her voice trailed off as she and her companions walked away.

Jin waited until he couldn't hear the sounds of their footsteps echoing through the halls before he let himself and Hwoarang out of the small closet. Hwoarang stared at Jin wide-eyed and started to back away from him. Jin was starting to get annoyed at his unusual behavior.

"You're it! That thing CC always used to tell us about! That's why you survived being shot so many times, and that's why you don't have any scars!" Hwoarang stared at Jin who in trn looked at his hands. He had never thought about these things. It never occurred to him to ask why... All he was worried about was his mother. What was this devil Gene thing? Why was it in him? This was the time to find out. He slowly turned to Hwoarang.

"Tell me, what do you know what this devil Gene is?"


	19. Weird Happenings and a Threat

Hi guys! I'm back with a new chapter! I just found out that I might not be able to review for longer than I thought, so I am probably going to update right up to the 13 of December when finals start. The reason for this is because I'm going to visit my dad's family in a different country. On a brighter note, I might be finished with the story by then! It feels like soooo much time has pasted since I begun this story! It is really a great feeling!

**XInfernal: **I'm not trying to make Julia that stubborn, but I think that it's understandable that she is trying to cling to the belief that the woman who has watched over her for many years is innocent. Thanx for the comment!

**Ignes Fatui: **I love updating my fics, and it will hurt a lot for me to not be able to update. Thanx for the review! I hope you update your story soon!

**TheWishOfNight: **Thanx for the review! I'm sorry you're so tired.

**TheWritingBee: **Thanx! I'll try to make all of my chapters as good as 18 was!

**Katisan-karisan: **Thanx for the review! I hate essays with a passion! My mind always goes blank when I write them! Unfortunately, I have to write them... Glad you liked this chapter! I'm looking forward to the next installment of your fabulous fic!

**Krappkarmin: **Sheesh girl! And I thought that I was busy! I'm glad I don't have to do the whole college thing yet! If you don't mind me asking, what colleges did you apply to? I hope you get in! I promise I'll review for your fic, and don't underestimate yourself! Before I started writing, I thought I would be horrible at it and hate it, but now it's one of my favorite things in the world! I hope you write it as soon as your schedule clears up!

**HEYYY!!!:** I'm glad you liked my chapter, and I promise I won't make Ling die... I think... You'll have to just keep reading and see!

**Diamond Xiaoli: **Thanx! Well it's true, you're one of the first Tekken authors I ever heard of! Please keep reviewing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tekken unless I'm in my wacky little dream world.

Bonds of Love

Ling let out a moan of pain as she tried to rub her sore stomach. Cold resistance met her hands as she tried to move her arms. Her arms were strapped down to a cold, metal table with metal cuffs, as well as her legs. Ling struggled against the bonds as hard as she could, but she didn't gain any purchase.

How did she get here? She remembered hearing a gunshot and seeing Jin in the bullets way. Then there was blood all over her, but somehow, it didn't really feel to painful. She had felt more tired... Her last thoughts were is thid how it feels to die?

Suddenly, an older woman entered the room.

"Let me go!" Ling screamed. This could not be happening to her. She had just gotten free from Heihachi, and she and her friends were finally back together. Now here she was, once again, held prisoner with no way to get free. Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes as she thought of the chances of this happening to anybody else. Was she just cursed to be used by crazed madmen or something?

"Now, now. You're up early. That dart was supposed to keep you down for a couple of days. OH well. Calm down. I promise I won't hurt you," the woman's voice was oddly soothing and motherly, and despite herself, Ling felt calmer just by being in her presence and hearing her voice.

"I'm sure you've heard of me, my name is CC. I'm Julia's adopted mother." Ling regained her attempts to pry herself free when she heard this information. CC! That was the woman who hired Hwoarang to kill Jin!

The woman looked slightly surprised at Ling's violent reaction to her name, but she soon regained her composure.

"I see Hwoarang told you who ordered him to pull off that little stunt then," she said, her voice icy. "This makes things... Difficult." CC lifted a strange clear liquid from her pocket.

"See this girl?" she asked. "This is a toxic mixture of carbon and Nitrogen also called Cyanide. Are you familiar with what cyanide can do to the human body?"

Ling shook her head no, terrified. She had heard that Cyanide could do horrible things to your body and kill you, but she didn't know how it would kill her. It could be slow and painful. Ling watched the liquid that CC was holding in her hands. Was she going to inject it into her?

"Cyanide is a poison. If it is consumed in massive quantities, it can cause neurological damage. First it causes you to hyperventilate and pass out. Then it damages your heart, irreparably. Finally, it greatly harms your brain and can lead to a Coma, or death. I wonder... Do you think your friends would like to have this slipped into their food? It might be interesting to watch them die..."

Ling looked at the bottle with newfound horror. She violently strained against her bonds, trying desperately to escape. Gruesome pictures of Julia, Jin, and Hwoarang entered her mind. They were lying dead in a room splattered with blood.

"Leave my friends alone!" Ling screamed. "They didn't do anything to you!" Tears flowed from her eyes, and she cursed herself for showing weakness in front of this horrible woman. CC leaned down and stroked er cheek with a cold finger.

"Now now," she cooed, as if talking to a small child, "I won't hurt your friends if you do exactly what I say."

CC leaned forward until her mouth was directly next to Ling's ear. "All you have to do is convince Julia to tell you what is on the scroll she found. Tell me what you heard, and take the key and the map. Then I'll let you all go. There won't be any point in keeping useless kids like you around after that. Oh and one more thing. You can't tell anyone what you're up to. If you tell them, they die."

Ling quickly nodded in agreement. It's just a stupid treasure, she thought. After all, it was just some gold and jewels. It's not like it could change the world, right?

Hwoarang stared at Jin. He could feel the fright creeping onto is face, but for once he really wasn't trying to keep up his tough guy appearance. The devil Gene?!? That thing was said to be just a myth, nothing more... Then again, Hwoarang remembered the first time they met.

Suddenly Hwoarang was thrown to the side, and an extremely angry Jin went after him. He punched him three consecutive times before Hwoarang was able to block him. Jin's eyes were glowing red, and his nails lengthened and sharpened to form claws. Black wings had sprouted from his shoulders. Hwoarang's eyes widened and Jin continued to beat into him, blood flying into the air with each attack. Jin backed him into a corner and continued his assault.

Hwoarang remembered that moment especially well. It was the only time Kazama had ever beaten him. His punches had been so strong... too strong to be human. It all fit into the legend. The red eyes, the tattoos, claws, wings, everything, but somehow Hwoarang couldn't believe it. After all, Jin wasn't exactly the best guy in the world, but he wasn't evil, was he? Then again, how else could he have survived that bullet? Hwoarang took a deep breath and decided it was time to inform Jin about the necklace, and this time he would tell the truth. The whole truth.

"You know what we told you about the treasure?" Hwoarang asked. He saw Jin nod his head, and he continued his explanation.

"There's more that we didn't tell you. Besides the treasure, there's one other thing. Whoever finds the treasure gets one wish. Whatever that wish is could change everything for better...or for worse."

Jin suddenly interrupted him. "What the Hell does that have to do with me of whatever this 'Devil Gene' is?"

Hwoarang lifted his arms up in the air in front of him in a sign of mock surrender. "Calm down dude. I was just about to get to that. Anyway, this monster that guards the treasure is said only to be able to be defeated by someone with the Devil Gene in his body. Heihachi probably knew. That's why he kept you around."

Jin looked at him with deep-set distrust and anger. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Hwoarang gulped. If Jin knew that this was what Julia had been telling him before Jin had gotten there and freaked out there would be trouble. He would demand to no why Hwoarang hadn't told him about it first thing, and the answer to that particular question would ruin the fragile trust that he had just started to win over.

"I don't know. It never crossed my mind." At least that's half the truth. I never thought he would possess the Devil Gene... Jin looked at him skeptically as if he were searching for any hints of a lie. Apparently he didn't see anything wrong with Hwoarang, and he just turned and walked back into the mansion. Hwoarang shrugged and followed him back out feeling glad that his head wasn't being fed to Ling on a silver platter.

Wait a second... Why were they here in the first place?

"Jin!" Hwoarang shouted, "we have to go make sure that Ling's all right."

Jin turned around and without comment walked in the direction he had seen the people come from. Hwoarang sighed and followed him. It looked like he was going to be getting the silent treatment for a while.

Jin hurried towards the room he knew Ling was in. What was the number again? 20846? That was close enough. He'd find her and get her out of the hands of these homicidal maniacs whether or not Julia and her little lover boy helped.

Suddenly, he came to the room. He tried to turn the knob, but it was locked up. He was about to punch the door open when hinges swung inward and a tired looking Ling stepped out.

"Hi," she whispered. Jin looked at her shocked. Wasn't she supposed to still be unconscious? He started to suspect that Hwoarang had something to do this, but a quick glance behind him showed him that Hwoarang was just as shocked and surprised as he was.

An awkward silence filled the air as the three teenagers stared at one another. Finally, Ling broke the silence.

"If you don't mind. I have to go and ask Julia something." She brushed past Jin without another word and walked off. Jin lost track of her when she turned a corner. He and Hwoarang both stared at each other. Since when was Ling that serious? What was going on?


	20. A Legend and A Lie

Sorry about the lack of updates! Fan fiction dot net has been messed up and wont let me update! I've been really busy with school and everything, and I kinda left my computer to collect dust… It was worth it though! I got an A- on my Geometry test, and I think I did Ok on my last quiz. I've also raised my grades in English, Spanish, Biology, Keyboarding, and Band. I play the flute, and now I'm second chair! OK, well anyways, HAPPY THANKSGIVING for those of you in the US. I'm in charge of cooking dinner, and my green beans are about to burn…

_To My Reviewers:_

_**Karisan-karisan: **Thanks for the review. Don't worry, I don't think I can make them hate each other forever…_

_**TheWishOfNight: **Thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much. It's always great to hear that I write well and that people actually enjoy my stories! I hope you like this chapter!_

_**Ignes Fatui: **Thanx! I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you update your story too! I don't really know how many chaps are let but it's probably less than 10 more._

_**Xinfernal: **Thanx for the great review. Sorry for taking sooo incredibly long to update!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Tekken!_

Bonds of Love 

Ling quickly walked towards the main hall. Before CC had left, she had given her Julia's room number, and now all Ling had to do was find the right room. Her heart was pounding unnecessarily, a frantic rhythm that pushed her onwards even faster. CC had also given her a time limit. If Ling didn't have the information by breakfast tomorrow, they would be having their food a la cyanide.

Finally reached the main hall, and after looking around for a second, she headed upstairs. Ling quickly reached the third floor, but she had to stop.

_Since when do I get so out of breath? _She silently questioned. She ran more for this as a warm up before practice with Uncle Wang, and with the dangerous missions she knew that she was keeping in shape. What was wrong?

Ling fanned her flushed cheeks as she leaned against the wall, panting. The cool wood of the door helped to lower the heat she had built up running. However, there was a strange Pain in her stomach. When she finally felt better, the pigtailed martial artist headed towards Julia's room. She had to get what was on that map out of Julia's mouth by tomorrow morning, and a little weak spell wasn't going to change that!

Suddenly, the hall twisted in front of Ling as she continued. Her face was burning up, and there was a great deal of pain erupting from her stomach. Her abdomen seemed to burn and sizzle as she tried to lean against a wall, only to stumble over herself in her dizzy state and land in a pile on the floor. Ling felt the sweat on her face, and her limbs burned with each movement she took. She lifted her head only to have a new dizzy spasm wash over her tired body. Her head collapsed on the floor as she shut her eyes. The pain from right above her stomach got even worse, so she huddled herself into a small ball to try and alleviate the pain. Black dots started to swirl in front of her vision as she fought to stay conscious.

_The pain is coming from the area the tranquilizer hit! _Ling panicked. What if they had injected some sort of poison into her? Ling wearily lifted her shirt up until she could see most of her stomach. The smooth, tan surface was marred by a bright red light that seemed to shine out from under her skin. Then Ling got what was happening to her. This was something CC had probably implanted in her to make sure that Ling followed her orders. As soon as she lowered her shirt, the pain vanished, leaving Ling lying on the floor.

_She has full control over me, _Ling realized. Suddenly a new pain filled her being, but this one was familiar. Ling had felt this pain all through her captivity at the Mishima mansion. This was the pain that came with being helpless. Ling pounded the floor as she began to sob. It was happening again. Someone was using her and there was nothing she could do. Curled up in a little ball, Ling stopped crying. She couldn't save them if she had tears in her eyes. She'd follow CC's orders this one time, and after that, she could finally be free.

She brushed the wetness away from her face with determined hands as she headed towards Julia's room. Each step brought her closer to her destination, and she finally reached the right room.

Ling knocked loudly on the door, and when Julia opened it, she put on the brightest smile she could manage.

"HI Julia!" Ling exclaimed happily. Julia gasped and stared at her in shock before she gave her a giant hug. The taller girl was almost suffocating Ling.

"Ling, I thought you were dead!" Ling pulled away from Julia and saw that tears were dripping down her cheeks.

"It's all my fault!" Julia exclaimed. "If I hadn't run away, then you would've never been shot and almost killed!" Ling was speechless. She never knew Julia cared so much.

"It's not your fault, and besides, I'm OK now so it really doesn't matter does it?" Julia wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded.

"Want to come in?" she asked, motioning towards the inside of her room.

"Sure," Ling answered. She stepped into Julia's room and plopped down on the large, comfortable bed. "Julia, I need to ask you something," Ling began.

Julia allowed Ling into her room when Ling suddenly asked to talk about something.

"Sure," she replied. Ling looked really anxious, and Julia wondered if she wanted to talk about Jin. She waited silently for Ling to continue speaking, and after a while her patience paid off.

"You know that map you were reading?" Ling asked. Julia nodded, and Ling seemed to gain a little courage.

"I wanted to know what it said…." Ling trailed off as if unsure whether or not not that was the right way to go about things. Ling words were met with silence as Julia pondered whether or not she should tell Ling what she knew about the map.

One part of her mind told her that Ling deserved to know, after all, she was a good person, someone who could be trusted. The other part of her head however, didn't want to tell Ling. What if she told someone else? There were always a million thing that could goo wrong.

Finally, Julia decided to tell Ling the story of the map, and the real reason why everybody wanted it. She started speaking nervously, after all, she had never told anyone the real story, not even CC.

"Ling, I'm going to tell you the story about why the map is so important. I've never told anyone, not even CC or Hwoarang knows the entire legend. You have to promise me you won't tell."

She looked up at Ling in desperation. Ling stared back at her. She was shaking slightly as if there was something she was hiding, but Julia didn't notice this. After what seemed like a lifetime, Ling answered her.

"I promise I won't tell anyone Julia. You have my word." Something about her voice was off and her face was riddled with an odd sort of guilt, and suddenly Julia didn't know if she should tell Ling. Ling looked her in the eyes, and the horrible feeling in Julia's stomach doubled as she realized that Ling did look guilty. The guilt wasn't from something she had already done, but something that she was about to do. And then Julia decided she couldn't trust Ling. She would tell her part of what was written on the map, but the rest she would… improvise. With a heavy heart, she created a new story to tell Ling, confidant that the girl would fall for it.

_So like it? Once again, I'm very sorry for the lack of updates, I'll try to go faster, it's just that there's so much school work I need to do. My teachers are slave drivers! Please R&R! I really want this story to get to 100 reviews. I'd be bursting with happiness! Thanx!_


	21. The Pain of Control

_I hate finals! I've just been studying forever! I have a comparative essay, memorization, a math test, a science project, a World history quiz, a Spanish quiz, and a Christmas Concert coming up! Sorry about the very long lack of updates, I'll try harder to get them more on a regular schedule, but it's really hard! Whenever I start writing I remember that I need to do something else. Reviewers will be thanked next chapter since I only go a one hour break._

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

Bonds of Love

Jin and Hwoarang headed back towards the main building, each preoccupied with their own troubled thoughts. Every day seemed to be more and more troublesome to the ragtag group, and every member was stressed out by the sadistic events that seamed to follow them around the world.

_Devil gene! No wonder Heihachi used me! That bastard, I'll kill him! _Jin stomped down the hall, ignoring Hwoarang's scared and mistrusting face. To much was going on around them for them to not trust each other, and Jin decided to make that fact known.

"Hwoarang, I'm not going to bite your head off or anything," Jin muttered to Hwoarang. Hwoarang nodded and steppe closer to Jin, but despite his cool dispose, Jin could practically feel the nervousness radiating off his companion. With every step the redheaded Korean took, his nervousness seemed to increase. Jin's resisted the urge to whack some sense into his acquaintance, but with his anger building at a very alarming rate, it was getting more difficult. Finally he couldn't take it anymore.

"Look! If I can stand your presence after you _shot me,_ then I think you can stand to be in my company despite a stupid little legend!" Jin snapped. He watched as Hwoarang's face smoothly changed from cool and composed to fiery and angry in an instant. Inwardly, he smiled.

"You think I'm scared of you Kazama? I could still kick your ass back to Japan, right here, right now, no matter what any stupid legend says!" Jin rolled his eyes and walked away. That stopped when an arm grabbed his shoulder and flipped him around. He just dodged a punch aimed for his face before he backed away.

"Is that all you got, Hwoarang? You must be out of shape," Jin taunted. Hwoarang lunged at him again, and throughout the mansion you could hear the two of them screaming insults at each other, along with the occasional sound of shattering objects.

"So, that's the legend." Julia finished with a strained smile. Ling studied her carefully, but the girl appeared to be telling the truth…not that she actually knew how to detect lies in the first place but…

"Thanks Jules!" she exclaimed, before racing off down the stairs towards CC. She leaped over the railing and landed elegantly on her feet before setting off a sprint towards the room she was supposed to meet CC at. She was running by the main entrance when she saw Jin and Hwoarang sparring. She raced past them to the wooden door that lead to the medical center. Even though she knew she had until tomorrow morning to deliver the information, she somehow felt an odd sense of urgency in delivering her message.

Soon she reached the room, but as soon as she touched the door knob, she screamed in pain. Clutching her stomach, Ling fell to the floor, curling herself up into a fetal position in an attempt to stop the pain. The faint red light that Ling had seen before was now shining brightly enough for her to see it through the fabric of her shirt. She let out another bloodcurdling cry of pain as the pain seemed to overwhelm her senses. Her stomach seemed to erupt, and she hurried over to a near by trash bin before she emptied the food from her stomach. Slowly, the pain vanished, and Ling sat herself up, clutching her sore abdomen.

The door before her swung open to reveal a smug CC. She raised her head weakly to meet CC's gaze. "What have you done to me?" she asked breathlessly. CC just laughed.

"I'm just making sure you don't run away from me. I don't like disobedient servants like that. Oh, and as for what you were going to tell me, I already know. Not that it matters, my ignorant daughter lied to you. It doesn't really matter anymore though. I've had a sudden…change of plans."

She took a small pendant from around her neck. The gold gleamed in the white light of the room, and Ling realized that it was almost identical to the key she and Jin had stolen. She gasped and slowly backed away froom the mad woman.

"You see, now that I have all three parts, it doesn't really matter what the map says. I've even picked out the four _volunteers _who're going to take me to my treasure. They'll need a little encouragement, but I think I have that settled also.

She pulled out a small object with a bright red button on it. Sahe pushed the button, and Ling collapsed in pain.

CC lifted the teenagers chin so that she was staring directly into her captor's eyes. The cold brown depths forced her to repress a shiver.

"Tell me," CC began, "How does it feel to be used as bait for your friends?" In response to her question, Ling spit in her face. CC's face became red with anger.

"Wrong answer. Guards tie her up!"

Several men surrounded her, but Ling managed to get into a fighting stance. The first man who came at her was the unfortunate of a Dragon Fall. After sending her first pursuer to the ground, Ling once again collapsed. Two men grabbed her by each arm, and Ling started screaming.

"Jin! Hwoarang! Julia! Help me! Please! Help!" A man tried to cover her mouth, but Ling bit his hand and continued to scream. Suddenly, the pain in her stomach became so intense that her screams were halted. Her arms, which the guards had been struggling to hold onto halted their desperate motions and stilled. Ling felt like she had been stabbed a hundred times in the same place. Tha agony was unbelievable, and it was taking all her strength just to stay conscious. Black dots blinked at her from the front of her eyes, and her limbs felt as if they were on fire. Finally, she gave in to the darkness that surrounded her as her worn out body tiredly slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing she heard was somebody calling her name.

Julia allowed her false frown to slip off her face as Ling left with a smile. She decided to follow her. After all, if her hypothesis was correct, she needed to discover who Ling was giving out information to. When Ling jumped over the stairs and broke out into a sprint, Julia did too. She followed Ling past Jin and Hwoarang. They were concentrating so hard on their fight that they didn't even notice that their two girlfriends had just ran past them. She watched as Ling finally pulled to a halt in front of a door. Julia took a moment to observe her surroundings before she realized that the place Ling had lead her to looked like a hospital or a lab.

Suddenly, Ling let out a cry of pain, and Julia almost ran to her side. Almost. She saw a bright red light gleam from under Ling's shirt, and when she heard the door open, she quickly hid around a corner.

Her mother, CC, was the one who opened the door. Her usually warm eyes were filled with coldness and cruelty, and Julia watched as her mother threatened Julia. She was to far away from them to actually hear what they were saying, but when Ling started to scream that didn't matter.

Hwoarang was right. By bringing them here she had put them in danger. And somehow she knew this was only the beginning. Julia watched as ling knocked the first guard unconscious, but the next two grabbed her from behind and shoved her hands behind her back. The red light shone brighter than before, and Julia watched in horror as Ling fell unconscious. She couldn't take it anymore.

Forsaking her hidden corner and running towards her best friend, Julia screamed, "Ling!"

The guards turned towards her, and after roughly dropping Ling to the ground they charged at her. The first was the unlucky recipient of a forward lateral kick, and the next a roundhouse kick. Julia was so focused on making her way to Ling that she didn't notice the guard behind her.

Suddenly, the sickening sound of bone being crushed echoed behind her, and she turned to see Hwoarang and Jin. Hwoarang looked mad, but there were no words to describe Jin's anger.

"Let her go," Jin's voice commanded attention, and Julia gulped. She had never heard him this angry. CC just laughed. The horrible croaking sound was almost to horrible to listen to, and for a second, Julia wondered why she loved this woman as a mother. Even now, she probably wouldn't be able to hurt her, and looking over to Hwoarang, she sensed that he would have a hard time fighting his surrogate mother too.

"It wouldn't matter if I let her go," CC explained. "I would still have control over her body, and unless you want to watch your friend die a very painful death, you'll do as I ask." As if to emphasize that statement, she pulled Ling against her. Julia watched as Jin's anger intensified, but along with anger, there was desperation in his eyes. _I guess he cares for her more than he lets on, _Julia thought to herself.

"I'll do whatever you want," Jin pleaded, "just let her go." Julia watched as her friend approached CC. His voice was desperate, and Julia felt helpless.

"Perfect." CC replied. She glared at the three of them with eyes that shone with evil, and Julia gulped. Whatever they had to do wouldn't be pleasant, but she'd be ready to face it, after all, Ling was always there for her and it was time for Julia to pay her back.


	22. The Bitch and The Assassin

_Wow People! Thanks for the reviews! I get to write for a little while because I finally finished my finals with all As!… and one B… Anyway, I really want to thank my reviewers! I reached a hundred reviews! Thank you soooo much!_ _I just got Kingdom Hearts1 That is an awesome game. I thought it would be childish at first, but it's totally awesome. If you haven't already played it, you showed try it._

_TheWishOfNight: Thank you sooo much for the review! It makes me so happy to know that you like my story!_

_Snowbunni3z: Mwahahahaha! I love cliffhangers! I get more reviews that way… Thanx for the support, I hope you like this chapter._

_Sunshine: Don't worry! There are many more luvvy-dubby moments to come! Just keep on R&R! Thanx for the review!_

_Ignes Fatui: I'm so sorry about the loss of internet thing! Don't worry though, you probably won't miss much as I will not have internet access for most of those days either. Thanx for the reviews!_

_XInfernal: Wow! Really! It's really hard getting reviews for Tekken simply because of the lack of Tekken fans._

_The Writing Bee: Gracias! I'll be sure to (try to) keep up the drama!_

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken. Please don't sue me, I own nothing…

Bonds Of Love

When Ling regained consciousness the first thing she felt was a horrible pain in her stomach. It made her want to curl into a little ball, but she couldn't. Slurred voices were speaking above her, and she could vaguely recognize the voices of Jin, Hwoarang, and Julia. Did she hear her name…? The pain in her stomach doubled as she tried to move, and she let out a low moan. The voices suddenly stopped, and though her eyes were shut, Ling could practically feel their worried gazes. She attempted to open her eyes, but her eyelids somehow felt extremely heavy. She managed to lift her eyelids just a little, and she saw the blurry images of her worried friends over her.

"Ling, are you OK?" she heard Julia ask, clearly worried. Ling attempted to nod, but even the strength for that simple task eluded her. What had happened? She'd been knocked out before, but somehow this felt fifty times worse. Soon more sensations came back to her, and she felt a large, warm hand covering her own. She looked up into Jin's face and immediately was met with his anxious eyes. He looked horrible. Dark shadows rested under his eyes as if he hadn't rested for days, and Ling just wanted to hold him in her arms and tell him to sleep because there wasn't anything to be afraid of.

She tried to lift an arm up to stroke his face, and she was surprised when she was able to. His face was so warm, and Ling felt herself get lost in his gaze. No matter how solid his mask was, Ling could always see his feelings in his eyes, the windows to his soul. She could see his worry, fear, and love. It was all for her. She was his angel in this dark world, and he was her…everything. It was the only way to describe him. _I love him so much, _she thought. A small smile graced her features as she felt his hand come to rest over hers on his cheek.

They were so close… So close to being normal. So close to escaping the corruption. But now here they were in the middle of it. However Ling felt that someday they would be happy. No wait, she was already happy as long as she could be with her Jin. Someday they would be at peace with the world, not caught up in the middle of its' worst aspects. She looked forward to that day, praying for it always, but it wouldn't break her if they never made it. No… She would follow him to the ends of this world and beyond. He was hers always.

Slowly her eyes closed, but this time it wasn't out of pain. She welcomed the restful darkness, and the last thing she felt was Jin holding her hand. She fall into blissful sleep with the image of his beautiful face looking down on her imprinted into her mind.

When Ling finally roused from her comfortable sleep, she smiled to herself and examined her surroundings. Odd, she wasn't in a hospital. She was so used to waking up in one of those that anywhere else seemed weird. Soon she realized they were in a moving vehicle, something large since there was lots of room. The seats were like a limousine. They were against the wall of the car and wrapped around; however, nothing else was even remotely elegant and 'limousine like.' There were no windows, and cameras positioned in the corners reminded her that she wasn't free. She shuddered at the thought of who might be watching her. She couldn't see who was driving, and that kind of scared her. Even with Heihachi, she could always see the driver, and somehow knowing that she could incapacitate anyone if they tried anything made her feel more secure.

She looked across from her to see Julia and Hwoarang cuddled up together on the bench seat. Despite their cute position, both of their faces were shadowed with stress and despair. What had happened while she was unconscious? She tried to lift herself up, but as soon as she did, strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her back into her seat, and Jin. She shivered as his cool breath tickled her neck, and she felt a blush rising in her cheeks. What was wrong with her? She had already told him that she loved him but now she was embarrassed because he was holding her in his sleep. She snuggled back into Jin, determined to let the romantic moment last as soon as possible. As soon as she thought that she felt warm lips descend on her neck.

"Morning," she greeted. He grunted in response clearly still tired. "What happened while I was out?" she asked, turning to face him. He still looked tired, though it was a different sort of tired. Like he was mentally tired.

"CC, that miserable cow, is forcing us to go with her to where ever that stupid treasure of hers is. Julia's the only one who can read the map, and whenever the bitch needs directions she drags her to the driver's area and forces her to tell." Jin was scowling, and his face had a look of hatred on it that she thought was reserved for Heihachi. Ling instantly felt guilty. She knew, somehow, that this was all her fault.

Apparently, Jin could sense what she was thinking and he turned her around to pull her into a sweet, chaste kiss. It had been so long since she kissed Jin that she had almost forgotten how wonderful it felt. He pulled back, leaving her lips tingling and a bright blush across her face. "It's not your fault," he reassured her. Ling nodded up at him, but deep down she knew he was lying. It was her fault. She could feel it.

Instead of continuing the conversation, she buried her face into Jin's chest and inhaled his unique scent. She could never get sick of it. She felt his hand bury itself in her hair, stroking through it in a calming fashion. Suddenly, tears sprang to her eyes and she wept into his shirt. He wrapped his other arm around her while the first one continued to play with her hair, slipping the silky locks between his fingers. Finally, the tears halted, and she looked up at him. Suddenly she realized how little she actually knew about him. He was a mystery to her, but hopefully she'd have time to figure him out.

"I love you," she whispered to him. He was silent for a while, his hands still stroking her hair when suddenly he stopped and wrapped that arm around her to pull her closer.

"I love you too," he responded. She buried her head into his chest and slowly fell back asleep. Now that Jin was here, he could protect her. She would always trust him to protect her.

Jin stared down at the beautiful girl in his arms. He loved her so much, but the feeling was unfamiliar to him. Whenever she was around, the walls he had precariously placed around his heart came tumbling down. Around her, he felt different, like he could be who he really was. Around her he wasn't afraid to laugh or cry, and she always excepted him. He knew what he felt wasn't just a crush or a physical attraction. While he had to admit that Ling was very beautiful, he also knew that even if she wasn't he would still love her.

He kissed the top of his angel's head before he allowed the sadness to get to him. The one person he loved more than anything was being used against him, but this time he couldn't just free her. Her prison wasn't made of bars. As long as CC had that stupid controller, she also held Ling's life in her hands, and Jin didn't trust that thing as far as he could throw her. He still remembered the stunt she had pulled that had landed Ling unconscious for three days.

Suddenly the moment was ruined when the doors to their 'cage' opened. He saw Julia and Hwoarang lift their tired heads just to scowl at the uninvited guest. Looked like the wicked witch of the West had decided to visit today. He growled at her, and he felt the slowly awakening Ling turn to face her. Though she hid it well, Jin could tell that Ling was scared out of her mind, and he pulled her further back into his protective embrace.

"What the hell do you want now?" he heard Hwoarang growl.

"Now, now. Don't be rude to the woman that holds your best friend's life in her hands. She pressing a button and Ling screamed in pain. She halfway toppled off the seat, held only by Jin's strong embrace. CC just laughed.

"Is there any reason why you've chosen to grace us with your presence, or do you just like to torture innocent people?" Jin growled dangerously. CC smiled.

"I'm glad one of you gets it." She let go of the button and Ling stopped screaming; however, she was limp in his arms and breathing heavily. He pulled her back into him and CC laughed again.

"Let me introduce you to one of my new employees. His name is Bryan Fury. He's a master assassin, and he's here to make sure none of you try anything. Not that you will…" Jin watched as she directed her glare to Ling who glared right back.

Suddenly, Bryan stepped out into Jin's view. He looked…robotic. His metallic skin almost gleamed in the Egyptian sun. A large scar was etched on his face, though his left eye. He immediately turned his attention to Julia.

"You look exactly like your mother," he said in a monotone voice.

Julia jumped, and asked, "how do you know my mother?"

He pointed to the scar on his face. "She gave me this, but I made sure she died nice and slow for it." He trailed off laughing insanely, and Julia screamed in outrage.

"You bastard!" She leapt at him, but he easily dodged her attack.

"It's not going to work. I know your style since it's almost exactly like your mother's." Julia was about to hit him again when Ling suddenly convulsed and another scream was ripped from her throat. Julia immediately stopped and turned to CC.

"You bitch! You just hide behind that thing. If you were to actually fight, I'd kick your ass!" Jin felt Ling's convulsions get even worse, and suddenly she stopped screaming. Her body went limp, and Jin could tell she was unconscious. At least now she didn't feel the pain. Julia turned and looked at Ling in horror and sadness. Bryan Fury took advantage of her distraction and punched her in the head, knocking her unconscious.

"Bastard!" Hwoarang screamed. Suddenly, CC had a gun at his head, and Jin watched in horror as she clicked off the safety.

"I don't need you," CC started, "and don't ever think your life is of any value. The only reason you stay alive is because it would be harder for me to get Julia to give me the directions if you were dead. The only two people I need alive are Jin and Julia. Feel fortunate that I haven't killed you… yet."

With that said, CC locked the door and left Hwoarang and Jin alone to boil in anger. Jin was silent, but he was radiating anger. CC was going to die, and it would be delightfully slow and painful.


	23. Seizures

_Hola people! Thanx for the reviews! Now that I'm on vacation, I can write a lot quicker! Merry Christmas or Hanukah or whatever else you may celebrate! I think I'm going to wrap the story up in about 5 or 6 chappies… The next story I write might not be Tekken since I just need a break from it for a while… It'll feel so great to finally complete this story, yet at the same time it'll be so sad… I'll miss Jin, Ling, Julia, and Hwoarang!Ican't wait to kill off Heihachi and CC. Oh, and if you haven't, check out Passion and The Devil by TheWishOfNight! It's really good!_

_**Cool!:** I love the fact that you liked my story! Keep R&Ring._

_**Shadowsin**: Thanx so much for the review. By the way, cool pen name!_

_**XInfernal:** Sorry that it probably didn't have enough Hworang/Julia in it, but I'm sure you'll like this chapter better!_

_**TheWishOfNight**: I loved your story! It's really good and I hope you update soon! Thanx for the review!_

_Disclainer: I don't own Tekken… I really wish I did. That would be soooo cool!_

Bonds of Love 

Julia slowly lifted her aching head. She hated him. She would kill him. Bryan Fury. That bastard had killed her mother. She felttears seep into her eyes, and they were soon streaming down her face. Each tear increased her anger ten-fold, and it gave her the strength to sit up. Looking around at her prison she realized that she wasn't the only one who needed revenge. Ling was still unconscious, and Hwoarang and Jin were glaring holes into the floor.

Ling. She looked so small and innocent. Unlike Hwoarang and herself, she was forced into this. She had never done anything wrong. The poor girl was curled up in her seat clutching her stomach like she could somehow protect it that way. Julia felt a pang of guilt in her heart. If she had never called CC none of this would've happened. She could tell they blamed her, even if they didn't admit it. Even Hwoarang.

He didn't talk to her much. Not that she could blame him. She hadn't trusted him. She had told him she loved him, but when it came to the moment of truth she couldn't believe him. She absentmindedly fingered the engagement ring. Maybe they could forgive each other and move on with life. She was going to college soon. Arizona University. Would he go with her, or would they be separated? Somehow she couldn't stand that. He had broken her out of her shell of self-pity and sadness. He was her first friend, her only love, and the man she needed to spend the rest of her life with, no matter how much they argued. She loved him with all of her heart and soul.

She felt the vehicle they were in pull to a sudden stop, and she knew what came next. Bryan Fury opened the doors and motioned for her to come out. Anger boiled though her hotter than anything she had felt before, but she grudgingly stepped out. The light temporarily blinded her as her eyes adjusted to the light, and she could feel the desert sand through her shoes. The only reason she didn't kill him was Ling. If Ling died because of her…

"Not just you, everyone," Bryan ordered. Hwoarang and Jin seemed shocked but stepped out too. Jin was tenderly holding Ling in his arms. She could sense tension in the air. Bryan motioned for them to follow him and they complied, heading further into the burning desert. Suddenly, Bryan stopped and Julia almost ran into him.

"Give me the girl," he ordered, holding his arm out to Ling. Jin just held her closer, and Julia could sense his hatred radiating through the air. It was almost as strong as hers, almost. Bryan stepped back and roughly grabbed the girl from Jin's arms. If she had been conscious, that would've hurt like hell. For once, being knocked out was good. Bryan roughly slung Ling over his shoulder as if she was some kind of sack or bag. Julia's hatred for him increased, if that was at all possible, and she could feel the intensity of Hwoarang's and Jin's glares from were she stood. They slowly followed Bryan to where ever he was going. Wait, where were they going?

"Where are we going?" Julia asked angrily. Silence followed her question, and she waited for Bryan to respond. He just kept leading them through the desert sand, and Julia could feel her patience wearing thin. She just wanted to beat the shit out of the miserable bastard hauling her friend around.

"Where are we going?" she asked again, her voice edged with irritation. She waited for a response to her logical answer, just to receive silence. She hated silence. She had asked a question, and she wanted an answer, now. Finally, the good for nothing bastard decided to answer her question.

"The path is too ragged for any type of vehicle. We're going the rest of the way by foot. Right now, I'm leading you to CC and her co-worker." Co-worker? She had a co-worker? That was new… Whoever it was had to be pure evil.

"Who's this co-worker?" Jin asked, beating Julia to it. Bryan Fury just laughed.

"You'll see him soon enough. Don't worry though, I'm sure you'll love him."

Julia could sense Jin's anger. It shot through her, and she did not want to be on the receiving end of it. Suddenly, she heard Hwoarang yell from behind her. She quickly turned, setting herself up into a defensive stance. Jin was standing behind her, his eyes a blazing crimson. The telltale tattoos were appearing on his face and arms. He slowly started walking towards Bryan, exuding a calm rage. Julia quickly backed away form him. She had only seen Jin like this once before, but it had been enough to inspire fear in her heart. And if he was anything like his father…Dear God, Bryan was going to get it. He seemed oblivious to this however and just laughed.

"My, my. You are angry." Bryan's laughter was stopped when Jin grabbed him by the throat and lifted him above his head. Ling dropped to the ground with a loud thump. Julia cringed. Not for Bryan but for Ling. Being dropped from that height had to cause some damage; however, Jin didn't seem to notice or care.

"If you kill me, your girlfriend dies a horribly painful death. I'm sure you don't want that, do you.," Bryan told the crazed Jin who was ready to murder him. He seemed arrogant, and their was no fear in his eyes.

"What makes you think I care," Jin asked calmly, his red eyes blazing into Bryan's. Suddenly, the metal man seemed scared. His eyes widened slightly, and he started struggling to get out of Jin's grasp.

"What?" he exclaimed shocked. Julia watched, half in sadistic delight, half in horror, as Jin tightened his grip around Bryan's neck. Delight because her couldn't wait for that bastard to die, and horror because his words rang clear in her ears. _"If you kill me, your girlfriend dies a horribly painful death." _

"What makes you think I care, " Jin repeated, not even casting a glance down to where Ling lay unconscious. Julia was suddenly struck with fear. What if he killed Bryan? Would they really kill Ling? The answer to the second question came much to quickly. Yes, they would kill her.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hwoarang pail with realization, and without words they both burst into action. Julia got to Jin first, and tried to pry his hands off of Bryan's neck. He turned and looked at her, his eyes filled with hate and anger. He didn't even remember who she was.

"Jin you have to stop. They'll kill her! Do you really want Ling's blood on your hands?" Julia screamed at him, before his eyes narrowed even further with anger. With out even touching her, Julia flew across the air, landing on the steaming desert sand. _Damn, _she thought, _that hurt like hell. _ The sand burned her skin as she watched Hwoarang struggle fruitlessly against Jin as well. Jin telekinetically sent him sprawling on the sand also.

Suddenly something under Jin caught her attention. It was Ling! She was waking up. The only problem was, Jin seemed to be further gone than before, could Ling actually calm him down this time?

Julia watched as Ling lifted herself off the ground. She looked up at Jin, then over to Hwoarang and herself before she seemed to figure out what was going on. Slowly, she rested an arm on Jin's shoulder. She spoke softly to Jin and Julia couldn't hear what was going on, but it wasn't working. Jin took on of his hands off of Bryan's neck and backhanded Ling. She staggered backwards before catching herself and running back towards Jin. He glared at her and she stopped, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Julia felt fear surge through her. Jin would never forgive himself for this. She could already feel the bruises forming from her less than gentle landing, and she could see a huge bruise forming on Ling's cheek.

Ling seemed to gather her courage and she started to walk towards Jin. She lifted a small hand to cup his cheek, and Jin finally started to loosen his grip on Bryan. He finally dropped him on the ground and turned to Ling. He was still angry, but Ling seemed to calm him down. Then the worse person appeared, CC. Suddenly, Julia felt her fear return. This was not good. This was not good at all.

Ling rested her hand on Jin's cheek, smiling when he dropped Bryan on to the sand. His eyes were filled with recognition, and Ling knew he was almost back to normal. She could hear him coughing, trying to refill his lungs, and se found no pity for the murderer. Keeping her eyes on Jin, she leaned up towards him, about to kiss him, when the worse person possible appeared. Ling turned towards CC, shaking slightly in fear, something she knew Jin noticed. His eyes glowed even more, and she could feel him tense up with anger. Swallowing a whimper, she turned back towards him, trying to ignore CC.

"Jin, you need to go back to normal now," she told him softly. He just pulled away from her and turned towards CC. At least he hadn't struck her again. That meant there was still hope. "Jin, please go back to normal," she pleaded, tears coming to her eyes. He ignored her, turning to CC.

"Beautiful," CC muttered under her breath. "Absolutely perfect," she continued. Jin just growled at her, and Ling felt hopeless. CC continued talking, ignoring the fact that Jin was probably going to kill her. "He's just what we need to get past whatever is guarding it." Guarding it…? What was she talking about?

Suddenly CC turned towards her. "Girl, if you don't want to die I suggest you calm him down, now." That was an order Ling would be more than happy to follow except for the fact that she didn't know how to get him back to normal. Jin just stood there, not seeming to understand what was going on.

"Jin. Please turn back to normal. Please," she whimpered, clutching her abdomen. She couldn't feel the pain, but she knew it was coming. "Please," she whimpered. Jin turned to her again, his eyes still blood red, but once again they were filled with recognition.

"Ling," he whispered. Ling nodded, praying that he would return to normal soon. She hugged him tightly, and he returned the embrace. Suddenly CC spoke.

"Too long," she said and pressed the button the control. Ling screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground, sliding out of Jin's embrace. It hurt so badly. The burning made her want to be sick, but she hadn't eaten in over three days, so all she retched out was blood. The pure pain increased, spreading to her limbs like a wildfire through a forest. A weak scream escaped her lip, and Ling felt tears on her face. It hurt so bad that she just wanted to die. Black dots spun above her head, and she let herself go unconscious.

Hwoarang watched in horror as an unconscious Ling convulsed on the ground. Jin snapped back to normal, and he started screaming at CC to stop. Hwoarang watched her face, she looked confused and oddly pale. Then his gaze traveled to her hand. She wasn't pressing anything, so why was Ling still in pain?

As if someone had called him, Dr. Leviad casually strolled forward out of the desert sand. He kneeled next to Ling, a gleeful expression carved onto his ugly face.

"It looks like you were pushing that button a little too much CC," he croaked out almost…happily. He restrained the convulsing girl and stuffed an odd looking thing into her mouth.

"What the hell did you stuff into her mouth?" Hwoarang yelled at the insane doctor. Whatever it was could be choking her. He could be killing her under the pretense of healing her! Suddenly a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He looked up to see Jin.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hwoarang asked confused. Why was Jin stopping him from ripping off that doctor's head? "He could be hurting her," Hwoarang continued. Jin just shook his head and returned his glance to Ling and the doctor. Ling finally calmed down and the doctor just shook his head and felt her pulse. What had happened?

"He wasn't doing anything wrong," Jin continued. "The stress on her body from all of the torture-" Hwoarang felt Jin's grip on his shoulder tighten, "was too much for her body to handle. She was having a seizure. What he put in her mouth was to stop her from choking on her tongue, and he was holding her down to stop her from hurting herself. If it wasn't for him, Ling probably would've been hurt much worse."

Hwoarang was silent after those words. They just kept running through his head. It was all just so horrible. What had they ever done to deserve this fate. All Hwoarang wanted was a peaceful life where he was married to Julia with kids, and the only violence in his life consisted of him kicking Jin's ass. Then again, fate never cared about what anybody wanted, and they were all just doomed to have bad karma for the rest of their lives. A silence reined over the patch of desert they all stood on. The only noise was the sound of Ling's slow, shaky breaths. At least she was alive.

"She's going to be fine," the doctor began, "it was only a minor seizure caused from shock. She just needs food and rest and she should be fit enough to travel in a few days. I'm taking her back to the tent. She needs water badly since it seems like no one has fed her anything in the last three days."

Hwoarang was suddenly overcome with anger. No one had fed her in three days! They didn't need to press a button to kill her, all they had to do was keep treating her like this. Dr. Leviad scooped the delicate girl into his arms and carried her away to where ever his medical tent was. CC was still standing there, pale as the sand. Seeing that Ling was gone, she regained her composure and grinned at the three remaining teens.

"You heard what the good doctor said. You all better behave yourselves or else the girl dies, and I'm sure you don't want that." Hwoarang's hate increased, if that was even possible. Suddenly another voice spoke out over the harsh desert silence.

"Why?" Julia asked quietly. Her voice sounded pained, and Hwoarang felt anger towards her. Didn't she get that CC was evil already? Did she need anymore proof? He stared at the woman he loved. Why was it that she believed CC's lies and empty promises, while he had given his heart to her and she didn't trust him? The past few days he had been silent and ignored her, but they really needed to talk. Their relationship was in trouble, and as horrible as it seemed, Hwoarang couldn't help but wonder if Julia was really the girl he wanted to wear that ring. He loved her, but as long as she couldn't trust her there was no future. He didn't want to let his heart be ripped out by his best friend/fiancé.

"Why what?" CC answered irritated. Hwoarang just wanted to rip her head off for such a cold reply. Julia had trusted her, and now she was like this. She deserved the 'Worst Mom Award'.

"Why are you acting like this? The CC I know would never do this to anyone. She believed that killing was wrong, and she wouldn't even dream of torturing someone for money! Have you really changed that much, or did the woman I loved as a mother never exist!" Julia was shaking, but it wasn't from fear, it was from anger. Hwoarang took a better look at her. Julia looked stressed and sickly. Her cloths were slightly baggy as if she had lost weight. He was temporarily mystified by what the cause of the problem was, until he saw her eyes. They were riddled with guilt. Guilt over not believing him. Guilt over what her trust in such an evil woman had done to her friends.

For once, CC was silent. She seemed to be contemplating what Julia said, but soon she brushed it off. "The woman you remember died along with your mother," CC replied bitterly. Before anyone could question her further, she walked away, motioning for them to follow her. The three of them silently trudged along, heading towards camp and whoever this co-worker of CC's was. Hwoarang cracked his knuckles. Whoever it was, Hwoarang couldn't wait to meet them. He'd enjoy ripping them to pieces.

_So, did you like it? Incase you're wondering about the seizures, they don't always put people into cardiac arrest. Sometimes the smaller ones that are a result of shock only knock a person unconscious, and they end on their own, (or at least, that's what they told me in health class --). _


	24. A Forgotten Treasure

_Thanx for all of the reviews! Happy New Years! To my reviewers:_

_**I'm-just-a-teen**: I'm super happy you liked my story so much, and I do hope that I don't disappoint you! Thanx!_

_**Snowbunni3z**: I'm glad you think so! Don't worry, they'll get what's coming to them soon. _

_**Shadowsin**: You'll probably hate me for this chapter, but everything will turn out all right!_

_**Karisan-karisan**: I know. I took H&J's problems from the problems that most young couple's face. They've been put under much stress with everything, and eventually they'll have time to learn to understand each other._

_**TheWishOfNight**: Poor you! I hate when my computer breaks down! It's so sad! Happy Holidays to you too!_

_**XInfernal**: Yes CC is evil! I'm soooooo sorry those are your initials! I really had no clue!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Tekken or any other brand name item I happen to use in the course of my story! The only character I own is CC, co if you want her, sue away!

Bonds of Love

Hwoarang and the others carefully followed CC to her camp. Hwoarang was shaking with anger because he was trying so hard not to punch his fiancée's vindictive mother. Of course, he was angry for more reasons than just that. He hadn't changed clothes for three days, and the disgustingly sweaty cloth clung to him like a second skin. Blood stained the right side of his outfit from where he had landed in the desert. Another thing to be mad about! If Jin didn't have that stupid Devil Gene, Hwoarang would've kicked his ass by now!

He looked towards his Fiancé and his 'friend.' Jin looked just as mad, if not more, as he did, but Julia just looked depressed. The dark bags under her eyes were the biggest sign of her despair. Besides that, her once figure-fitting clothes were hanging off her, a sign that she had lost even more weight. For a girl that slim, losing weight wasn't healthy in the least. She turned her head to meet his eyes, but with a flip of his now stringy and sandy hair, Hwoarang turned away, instead gazing out into the endless sands of the Sahara desert. Part of his heart told him that he should go over there and comfort Julia, after all, she was his would be wife, but the other, darker side didn't quite forgive her for not trusting him. They were supposed to be in love, but she couldn't believe him when he told her the truth.

His mind continued it's internal argument, and Hwoarang didn't know they had arrived until he heard CC's deceivingly innocent voice pipe up to echo across the noiseless sands. He wasn't really paying any attention whatsoever to the words coming out of her mouth. After all, CC herself had made it extremely clear that Jin and Julia were the only two she really needed. He and Ling were just hostages to insure that nothing went wrong for her and her posse of rich, arrogant fools. Of course, then there was always the fact of what happened after all of this, if they all lived… Did he really want to spend the rest of his life with Jules? He knew he loved her, but…

Hwoarang quickly wiped those thoughts from his head when he heard the sound of sand being crushed under someone's feet. He lifted his gaze to glare at CC's new partner, only to get the shock of his life. Cold, brown eyes examined him with distaste. An old wrinkled face with odd spiky hair revealed the person who was number three on his 'will kick ass of' list, right after Jin and CC. Heihachi Mishima looked down at the three of them, an evil grin marring his already ugly face. Hwoarang clenched his fists. His fury prevented him from feeling the blood dripping down his hands from his nails. All that filled him was unbelievable rage, and the need to tear someone's head off.

Ling sighed as the small group continued to trudge through the hot desert, eyes glaring down to the sand. It had been three days since she had gotten her seizure, and two days since they began their death march through the unforgiving sands. At least they had gotten new clothes and a chance to bathe… Looking back on everything, Ling decided she should at least be thankful for that.

She was wearing a long-sleeved, tight white shirt specially made to combat the desert's heat. Her pants were also the same color, but thankfully they were a bit looser. A hat on her head protected her face from the burning rage of the sun. They had also allowed her to bathe for the first time in almost a week. And though the food tasted like horse shit, Ling was happy she wasn't starving to death. She shuddered at the painful remembrance. After a while, the pain of starvation had gone away only to be replaced with a dull ache and the feeling of nausea.

Ling could clearly recall seeing her refection staring back at her from the oasis's small pond. Though the ripples in the water slightly distorted her image, Ling could clearly see the damage not-eating had done to her body. Her ribs shone so clearly through her skin that she could count them, and her vertebrae stuck out from her back at an unhealthy angle. Her already flat stomach seemed to have sunk backwards into her, and she swore she could she through herself. Her usually healthy skin tone had been replaced by a sickly pale coloration, and her once silky smooth hair was a frizzy stringy mess, easily pulled from her head.

When she had first been allowed to eat, Ling had lunged at the food like a hawk diving after its prey. Jin had stopped her though, ignoring her pout and warning her not to eat to fast or she would get sick. The anger in his eyes had temporarily stopped her from digging into her food until she noticed that his anger wasn't focused on her… It was focused on CC and Heihachi.

Ling shuddered at the memory of his anger. She would hate to be the recipient of it, and she almost felt sorry for them. Almost. Her anger wouldn't allow her to forget what they'd done to her, but the look in his eyes promised a painful death for the both of them. Despite her anger towards them, somehow Ling did not want then to die. It would make her as bad as them. No, she wanted them to be sent to jail for the rest of their lives. That way they could spend their entire existence regretting what they had done to the countless people they destroyed. Nobody deserved to be murdered, because then it was just more innocent hands being stained with blood.

Thinking back to Jin, Ling realized that she knew almost nothing about him. She knew HIM, who he really was under is cold exterior, but she didn't know much ABOUT him. If someone asked what his favorite color or food was, she wouldn't know. But for know it didn't matter. After all, she'd have her hole life to get to know him, right? Somehow she wasn't sure, and that terrified her. It scared her more than words could ever tell.

Ling momentarily lifted her gaze to Julia. Her friend's usually bright eyes were dimmed with unmistakable guilt, and she too had lost weight. Her new white clothes almost hung off her, and Ling felt guilty for making Julia feel this way. She knew it was because of her handicap when it came to CC that Julia felt anger at herself. Why didn't she get that no one lamed her? The only person yet to forgive her was she herself…

Ling let out a quiet sigh and thought of comforting her older friend, but she held herself back. The only person that could heal her wounds right now was a certain red-headed Korean, but he was hurting too. Until they talked things out with each other, they were just going to hurt themselves even more. She let out another sigh, and suddenly she felt a large warm hand encircle her own smaller hand. She smiled up to see Jin at her side, his eyes focused forward but his attention focused on her.

"Don't worry," he told her reassuringly, "they'll work it out and come out fine. Right now they're just to stubborn to see that they need each other." She squeezed his hand in hers, and for a while all was silent except for the crunching of their feet as CC, Heihachi, Bryan Fury, Julia, Hwoarang, Jin, and Ling headed towards their destination.

Sudden;y, the peace was broken when a huge pyramid came into view. The corroding stones gave of the eerie sense of evil, and the place was obviously incredibly ancient. It looked like it hadn't been touched in thousands of years as it towered above them in all it's glory. The bright yellow sun behind it cast it's shadow onto the weary travelers as if threatening to come in. Ling stood in shock, Julia gasped, Hwoarang stared, and CC laughed. The menacing sound cut through the silent desert air, and Ling shivered. Jin tightened his grip on Ling's hand, and turned to look at her, confusion and fear evident in his eyes.

"This place, I've been here before," he began in an unsteady voice, "and I killed you all."


	25. A Happily Ever After

Wow! I haven't updated in forever! I guess I temporarily lost interest or something…. Anyways, sorry about the long wait, and here's the next chapter of bonds of love!

"I killed you all," Jin's voice carried over the desert air and Ling paused. NO! IT was only a dream…A stupid dream he had, right?

"Jin, it was only a dream. You could never kill us, you care too much." Ling voiced her opinion with certainty, trying to hide the opposition her mind put up. She could still remember times where Jin couldn't control his actions, and where he might of actually hurt them… Or worse. Still, she was determined to put all of this behind her, and after everything was said and done, she and Jin would have a magical life with a family and everything else she could ever want.

His hand squeezed hers tightly, almost to the point of discomfort, but she only squeezed back, reassuring him that he wouldn't hurt her.

"Come on slow-pokes," CC's harsh voice yelled to them. Ling hurriedly pulled Jin inside, ripping his gaze away from the pyramid. Somehow, this place gave her a sense of déjà vu, but she knew she'd never set foot in this place before so how…?

"Come on Jin, it's best if we do what she says." Ling unconsciously put a hand over her stomach, and she could still feel the pain from whenever CC pressed that button. Even the imaginary pain hurt.

She could feel Jin's concerned eyes on her, but she ignored it for the time being. There was nothing either of them could do right now except follow CC. They kept up with the others, and Ling took the time to examine the dusty tunnel they were walking through. The walls were yellow stone, and sand and dust were everywhere. Spider webs hung from the ceiling, and Ling almost let out a scream when a scorpion scuttled across the worn path in front of her.

Jin wrapped an arm around her and she leaned on him, scared sick. She knew the only two CC needed were Julia and Jin, and she knew CC could and probably wanted to kill her right now.

"I love you Jin," she whispered, afraid that this might be her last chance to say it.

"I love you too," he replied, a small smile on his face. Yes, maybe their love could pull them through.

"Julia, where do we head next?" CC asked, walking besides Heihachi. Julia glanced at the map. She suddenly pulled to a stop, looking at the wall.

"Give me the jade key," she commanded, and CC handed it over to her. Julia held the key up to indentation in the wall, and twisted it. Next she pushed the wall away as if it were some sort of door.

Julia looked into the room and her eyes widened. Rotting skeletons were scattered everywhere, but besides that the room was made of pure gold. Every part of the room glimmered and sparkled with heaps of gold and jewels, but that wasn't all. At the end of the room was a huge door and a small space for the last key. This was it. Soon, everything would be over.

"Julia, you truly are a marvelous daughter!" CC exclaimed, stepping inside the chamber. She held up the last key, silver and red, and walked over to the last room. "Heihachi, the treasure in here is yours. I have my sights set elsewhere." Heihachi grinned and Julia glared at him. He disappeared into the piles of treasure, rummaging and choosing what to take.

She could hear CC footsteps echoing across the ground as she walked, but something wasn't right. Why were all these skeletons here? Nobody could have been in here for centuries, so why were there so many dead bodies?

The doors opening echoed through the hall and Julia heard Ling let out a gasp. "Jin!" Ling screamed. Julia turned and saw Jin, eyes red, tattoos and wings marking his body. The transformation was quick this time, and there was nothing of the Jin she used to know in those fiery red eyes. He threw Jin to the side and headed towards Julia. Oh shit! Julia tried to run away, but she was held in place by some force field.

Jin was drawing closer and closer to her when he was suddenly tackled to the side. Hwoarang struggled to hold him down, and he looked at Julia. It was a look of forgiveness and a look of love. "Run!" He yelled. Julia sprinted towards the doorway, only to be blocked by a much too familiar figure.

"Bryan," she sneered at him. He reached the key and pulled it out of it's slot, pocketing it. The door of stone slammed closed behind them.

"You idiot!" Julia screamed, "you just condemned all of us to death!" Bryan smiled.

Suddenly, Hwoarang was flung next to her, scraped across the floor. She turned to look at Jin, his red eyes gleaming evilly, but suddenly she could hear the sound of another door being opened. CC had just unlocked the final door.

Ling stumbled up, looking at Julia. "What lies behind that door?" she asked. Julia looked at her, face paling for a second.

"Behind that door is a mirror that grants any wish imaginable." Both girls paled at the thought of a weapon like that under CC's greed. At the same time, they both lunged towards the closing door, but Julia was roughly grabbed by Bryan. Ling just managed to slip through before the door closed.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Bryan mocked, holding her close to him and whispering in her ear. "And now you must die, like mother like daughter I suppose." Hearing that comment sent Julia into action. She elbowed him in the ribs, breaking his hold on her and pulling away to face him.

"For killing my mother, I hate you more than anyone else, ever. Now it's time for you to pay." Full of revenge, she lunged at Bryan, catching him with a strong right, followed by a barrage of hits that sent him crashing into the floor. Slowly, he lifted himself up, smirking at her.

"You'll have to do a lot better than that to hurt me, little girl!" This was going to be a tough fight…

Ling followed CC and saw her right in front of the mirror. The room was large, but empty. There was a door leading somewhere on the other end. Just as she was about to make a wish that could possibly destroy the entire world, Ling tackled her, sending them crashing to the ground.

"You little bitch!" CC growled, pulling the controller from her pocket. Ling betted it out of her hand, sending it spiraling into the wall, breaking on contact. Finally! CC had no control over her. CC glared at her before pushing her to the ground and looking at the mirror.

"Oh great mirror, grant my-" Before she could finish, Ling tripped her. CC got up and pulled out a knife. "Looks like I'll have to get rid of the little pest before I make my wish." She laughed and lunged at Ling, knife first. Her moves were obvious and a bit slow, and Ling couldn't help but think of what Julia said about her mother being a pacifist.

"Looks like you can't do anything for yourself," Ling said before kicking CC in the stomach, knocking her unconscious and sending her crashing into the ground.

She walked up to the mirror and touched its reflective surface. It was full length, and she could see her reflection shining back at her. One wish and it could all be over. One wish and she could be safe. All it took were a couple of words. Ling opened her mouth, but suddenly a large, grotesque humanistic ogre landed behind her.

It looked like a regular human besides the fact that it was much larger and it was wearing some sort of mask.

It lunged at Ling and she jumped to the side, barely dodging the deadly creature. It walked towards her, stride confident and heavy. It stopped at CC and lifted her up.

"NO!" Ling screamed, halting the monster. It was going to kill her. CC might be evil… But Ling didn't want her hands to be stained with anyone's blood. He threw CC into the stone wall, and her body hit with a sickening crunch. CC had to be dead.

"You killed her…" Ling muttered. She collapsed in guilt, imaged of CC's body hitting the wall flashing before her eyes. The ogre grabbed her, lifting her into the air by her neck. She gripped his arms, trying to pry his arms away to no avail. The things grip was to strong. She kicked and scratched, desperately trying to free herself. In response, the monster's grip only tightened.

"Jin!" Ling screamed.

Hwoarang and Julia snapped up at Ling's desperate plea for help. With one last, powerful kick, Julia pounded Bryan into the ground. He didn't get up. They ran towards the stone door, trying to pry it open; however, it wouldn't budge.

"Ling!" Hwoarang cried out, punching his fists against the wall. Julia was screaming too, and they couldn't hear anything on the other side. Jin turned towards them, face filled with some sort of sadistic joy, and walked towards them. He touched the door with his hands and it sprang open as if it were waiting for his touch to open.

"What the heel?" Hwoarang managed to sputter before a purple glow surrounded Jin and he returned to normal.

"Ling!" he cried out. In front of him, Ling was being held up by some sort of creature. With out wasting anytime, Jin lunged at the creature and knocked it over, freeing Ling from her oppressor. Ling fell to the ground, gripping her throat as she coughed and sputtered, desperately trying to regain her breath.

Jin rushed to her side and picked her up, growling at the fingerprints that adorned her throat. "Ling," he said.

Hwoarang watched the sweet scene before turning towards Julia. They shared a smile before Hwoarang noticed the ogre getting up. He leapt towards it, using nutcracker before it could fully get up. Jin picked Ling up and carried her out of the way. The poor girl was miserable. Her body was still week from the rough treatment it encountered throughout the journey, and the attack hadn't made her any better.

"Jin! You take care of Ling! I'll kill this guy." Hwoarang shouted over to him.

"That door leads to the outside!" Julia told him, looking at the map. Jin carried Ling towards it, pushing it open when he got there.

"Julia, you go to," Hwoarang told her, dead serious. He couldn't bear to see her hurt or dead. He loved her too much for that. Instead of leaving, Julia took her stance beside Hwoarang.

"I'm not leaving you alone here. I'd rather die with you than leave without you, even if you are an overconfident bastard." Hwoarang had to smile at that. Julia and her way with words. Just as they were about to start fighting, a maniacal laugh escaped from the main treasure room. Heihachi emerged from the riches, bags filled with the finest gold and jewels at his feet.

"You kids are so foolish. Did you really think I'd just leave without a fight? This place will be your grave, and the ogre will come with me." Heihachi pulled out a gun and aimed it for Julia and Hwoarang. They froze, stuck between ogre and Heihachi, and unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, a bang rang out through the huge area, and all eyes turned towards Jin, holding a gun in his hand. On the other end of the room, Heihachi fell over, dead. The sound of the bullet echoed through the walls, and slowly the place started collapsing in on itself.

Ling grabbed the mirror and dragged it out with her, the others close behind her. Ogre chased after them, but when he reached the exit, some magical barrier seemed to hold him inside. The four fighters didn't wait to see what happened to him, they just ran like hell.

Finally, Ling collapsed into the hot desert sun. They were following their own footsteps back, and they were probably about half way back in the 30 minutes they had just spent running. Ling dropped the mirror onto the sand with a plop.

"What are we going to do with that?" Julia asked her, confused. Ling smiled.

"We have one wish. We can wish for anything in the world, anything at all!" She smiled cheerfully at her friends. This seemed to be the big reward at the end of the journey.

"Only one wish though." Hwoarang pointed out. "Who should make the wish?" All heads immediately turned towards Ling, who stare at them.

"Me. Why me? You guys did better than I did, and we all deserve a fair chance. Why don't we play rock paper scissor or something?" Julia shook her head and smiled at Ling.

"Out of all of us, you suffered the most. Having that control device implanted inside of you can't have been very pleasant, and out of all of us, you're the person who deserves to use the wish." Ling smiled at her friends and walked up to the mirror. She touched the glass with a small hand and looked at her reflection. What should she wish for? She could have anything in the world so what? Touching the mirror, she spoke to it.

"I wish for us to have a happy ending."

Epilogue

Five years had passed since that very day, and Ling and Jin are enjoying life in their Japanese residence. Ling smiled as she thought about all that happened. Julia and Hwoarang's marriage a few months after everything ended, and their move to Arizona for Julia's schooling. Education had always been very important to her, and nothing, not even Hwoarang, was going to change that.

Ling and Julia exchanged letters everyday through e-mail, and Ling had just gotten her bachelor's degree in immigration and emigration services. She had also just gotten her duel citizenship for China and Japan. Ling rubbed her huge belly, wondering about the life growing inside of it. She was six months along with Jin's child. They had gotten married about a year ago, right after Ling got out of college. Jin still attended Tokyo University, trying to get his masters, not that it was relevant whether they worked or not. After Heihachi's mysterious disappearance, Jin had inherited all of his wealth.

They had so much money, it could last three lifetimes. Jin and his father had finally made up, and now they came over to visit once a week. Ling kept in regular contact with her mother, and she had even gotten the beautiful locket back. Deep in thought, she opened it to see a picture of her and Jin from their marriage day.

Jin had his arms wrapped around her from behind, and they both were smiling radiantly. Beside them were Julia and Hwoarang, smiling just as happily. Everything was perfect, nothing could be better. Ling had all se could ever want, a kind husband, a caring family, great friends, and a future set out happily ever after. Ling couldn't of asked for a better life with the ones she loved.

The End


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